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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

EDUC- 
PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 

GIFT  OF 


Mrs.  Harold  Bruce 


cnarcti  1,   j<ronii»i>i6cc 


Charge  of  Cromwell's  Horsemen. 


EDUC- 
PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 


RTFT 


J)Pr3r(. 

CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 
His  Childhood  and  Youth 

PAQH 

7 

^t 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Expedition  into  Spain    . 

.      25 

f^^\^ ' 

CHAPTER  III. 
Accession  to  the  Throne 

.      45 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Buckingham 

.       65 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  King  and  his  Prerogative     . 

.      89 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Archbishop  Laud      .... 

.    Ill 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Earl  of  Strafford  . 

.     132 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Downfall  of  Strafford  and  Laud 

.     151 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Civil  War 

.     171 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Captivity 

195 

CHAPTER  XL 
Trial  and  Death     .... 

.    215 

w 


053 


Charles  I.  vi 

Charles  I.  passing  through  the  streets  of  Loadon, 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Charge  of  Cromwell's  Horsemen, 

Frontispiece, 

Charles  I.  Passing  through  London 

page  vi 

Tailpiece 

. 

viii 

King  Charles  I.  of  England  . 

I 

X 

Headpiece,  Chapter  I.  . 

i 

7 

Coronation  of  King  James  I.  of  England,  facing  ' 

8 

Rejoicings  at  Windsor  Castle 

a        i 

;6 

Windsor  Castle     .... 

,  ' 

24 

Headpiece,  Chapter  II. 

.  ' 

25 

Explaining  the  Plan  to  King  James, 

facing  ' 

'    30 

Prince  Charles  Surprising  the  Infanta, 

i(      i 

40 

Headpiece,  Chapter  III. 

,         .  ' 

45 

The  Palace  of  the  Escurial     . 

facing  ' 

50 

Landing  of  Henrietta  Maria  at  Dover 

a        i 

62 

Headpiece,  Chapter  IV. 

,             ,  ' 

65 

Assassination   of  Buckingham 

facing  ' 

86 

Buckingham  Execrated  by  the  Populace,        .  ' 

88 

Headpiece,  Chapter  V. 

,  ' 

89 

Charles  I.  Leaving  Parliament 

,         .  ' 

110 

Headpiece,  Chapter  VI. 

,         .  ' 

111 

Dr.  Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

facing  ' 

114 

Charles  I.  and  his  Council 

.  ' 

131 

Headpiece,  Chapter  VII. 

.  < 

132 

Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  of  Strafford, 

facing  * 

134 

Headpiece,  Chapter  VIII.     . 

(vii) 

151 

VIU                                ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TheEarl  of  Strafford  Going  to  his  Trial 

facing  page  156 

The  Tower  of  London 

.  "  165 

The  Earl  of  Strafford  Led  to  Execution,  facing  "  168 

Taking  the  Oath 

.  "  170 

Headpiece,  Chapter  IX. 

"  171 

King  Charles  I.  and  the  Commons, 

facing  "176 

A  Battle  of  the  Civil  War    . 

.     "     "  186 

An  Incident  in  the  Civil  War 

facing  "  192 

Headpiece,  Chapter  X. 

.  "  195 

Oliver  Cromwell    .... 

facing  "  202 

Arrest  of  King  Charles  I. 

u      u  204 

Headpiece,  Chapter  XL 

.  "  215 

Painting  the  Children  of  Charles  I., 

facing  "  228 

Execution  of  King  Charles  I. 

"      "  232 

Funeral  of  Charles  I.    . 

.  "  235 

INTRODUCTORY. 


Charles  the  First,  of  England,  ascended 
the  throne  with  very  high  ideas  of  the  heredi- 
tary rights  of  his  family,  and  the  chief  point 
of  interest  in  the  history  of  his  reign  is  the 
contest  in  which  he  engaged  with  the  English 
people  to  maintain  them.  For  twenty-four 
years  the  struggle  was  maintained,  and  then 
came  the  day  when  the  king  stepped  through 
a  window  of  his  banqueting  hall  in  Whitehall 
Palace  to  a  scaffold  especially  erected  outside. 
When  the  head  of  the  "  Tyrant,  traitor  and 
murderer,  Charles  Stuart"  was  held  up  to 
general  view  amid  a  death-like  stillness,  men 
said  kingship  had  been  killed,  and  the  people 
were  to  rule. 

But  the  great  landlord  power  had  to  be  grap- 
pled with,  and  that  proved  so  strong  that  to 
establish  a  dictatorship  under  the  Common- 
wealth's great  general,  Oliver  Cromwell,  seemed 
the  only  way  to  cope  with  it.  A  dictatorship 
could  not  endure,  however,  and  with  Cromwell's 
death  it  fell,  and  the  old  conditions  of  privilege 
were  again  set  up. 

<ix) 


King  Charles.!,  of  England. 


KING  CHARLES  L 


CHAPTER  I. 

HIS   CHILDHOOD   AND   YOUTH. 

,KiNG  Charles  the  First  was  born  in  Scot- 
land. It  may  perhaps  surprise  the  reader  that 
an  English  king  should  be  born  in  Scotland. 
The  explanation  is  this  : 

They  who  have  read  the  history  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots,  will  remember  that  it  was  the 
great  end  and  aim  of  her  life  to  unite  the 
crowns  of  England  and  Scotland  in  her  own 
family.  Queen  Elizabeth  was  then  Queen  of 
England.  She  lived  and  died  unmarried.^ 
Queen  Mary  and  a  young  man  named  Lord 
Darnley  were  the  next  heirs^.  It  was  uncertain 
which  of  the  two  had  the  strongest  claim.  'To 
prevent  a  dispute,  by  uniting  these  claims, 
Mary  made  Darnley  her  husband.  They  had 
a  son,  who,  after  the  death  of  his  father  and 
mother,  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  heir  to 
the  English  throne,  whenever  Elizabeth's  life 

7 


8  KING  CHARLES  I. 

should  end.  In  the  mean  time  he  remained 
King  of  Scotland.  His  name  was  James.  He 
married  a  princess  of  Denmark  ;  and  his  child, 
who  afterward  was  King  Charles  the  First  of 
England,  was  born  before  he  left  his  native 
realm 

King  Charles's  mother  was,  as  has  been  al- 
ready said,  a  princess  of  Denmark.  Her  name 
was  Anne.  The  circumstances  of  her  mar- 
riage to  King  James  were  quite  extraordinary, 
and  attracted  great  attention  at  the  time.  It 
is,  in  some  sense,  a  matter  of  principle  among 
kings  and  queens,  that  they  must  only  marry 
persons  of  royal  rank,  like  themselves  ;  and  as 
they  have  very  little  opportunity  of  visiting 
each  other,  residing  as  they  do  in  such  distant 
capitals,  they  generally  choose  their  consorts  by 
the  reports  which  come  to  them  of  the  person 
and  character  of  the  different  candidates.  The 
choice,  too,  is  very  much  influenced  by  politi- 
cal considerations,  and  is  always  more  or  less 
embarrassed  by  the  interference  of  other 
courts,  whose  ministers  make  objections  to 
this  or  that  alliance,  on  account  of  its  supposed 
interference  with  some  of  their  own  political 
schemes. 

As  it  is  very  inconvenient,  moreover,  for  a 
king  to  leave  his  dominions,  the  marriage  cer- 
emony is  usually  performed  at  the  court  where 
the  bride  resides,  without  the  presence  of  the 


VharlM  J. /act  p.  8 


Coronation  of  King  James  I. 


His   CHILDHOOD   AND   YOUTH.  9 

bridegroom,  he  sending  an  ambassador  to  act 
as  his  representative.  This  is  called  being 
married  by  proxy.  The  brjde  then  comes  to 
her  royal  husband's  dominions,  accompanied 
by  a  great  escort.  He  meets  her  usually  on 
the  frontiers ;  and  there  she  sees  him  for  the 
first  time,  after  having  been  married  to  him 
some  weeks  by  proxy.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that 
she  has  generally  seen  his  picture,  that  being 
usually  sent  to  her  before  the  marriage  con- 
tract is  made.  This,  however,  is  not  a  matter 
of  much  consequence,  as  the  personal  predilec- 
tions of  a  princess  have  generally  very  little  to 
do  with  the  question  of  her  marriage. 

Xow  King  James  had  concluded  to  propose 
for  the  oldest  daughter  of  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, and  he  entered  into  negotiations  for  this 
purpose.  This  plan,  however,  did  not  please 
the  government  of  England,  and  Elizabeth, 
who  was  then  the  English  queen,  managed  so 
to  embarrass  and  interfere  with  the  scheme, 
that  the  King  of  Denmark  gave  his  daughter 
to  another  claimant.  James  was  a  man  of  very 
mild  and  quiet  temperament,  easily  counter- 
acted and  thwarted  in  his  plans  ;  but  this  dis- 
appointment aroused  his  energies,  and  he  sent 
a  splendid  embassy  into  Denmark  to  demand 
the  king's  second  daughter,  whose  name  was 
Anne.  He  prosecuted  this  suit  so  vigorously 
that  the  marriage  articles  were  soon  agreed  to 


10  KING  CHARLES  I. 

and  signed.  Anne  embarked  and  set  sail  for 
Scotland.  The  king  remained  there,  waiting 
for  her  arrival  with  great  impatience.  At 
length,  instead  of  his  bride,  the  news  came  that 
the  fleet  in  which  Anne  had  sailed  had  been 
dispersed  and  driven  back  by  a  storm,  and 
that  Anne  herself  had  landed  on  the  coast  of 
Norway. 

James  immediately  conceived  the  design  of 
going  himself  in  pursuit  of  her.  But  knowing 
very  well  that  all  his  ministers  and  the  officers 
of  his  government  would  make  endless  objec- 
tions to  his  going  out  of  the  country  on  such 
an  errand,  he  kept  his  plan  a  profound  secret 
from  them  all.  He  ordered  some  shi]3S  to  be 
got  ready  privately,  and  provided  a  suitable 
train  of  attendants,  and  then  embarked  with- 
out letting  his  people  know  where  he  was  going. 
He  sailed  across  the  German  Ocean  to  the 
town  in  Norway  where  his  bride  had  landed. 
He  found  her  there,  and  they  were  married. 
Her  brother,  who  had  just  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  having  received  intelligence  of  this,  in- 
vited the  young  couple  to  come  and  spend  the 
winter  at  his  capital  of  Copenhagen ;  and  as 
the  season  was  far  advanced,  and  the  sea 
stormy.  King  James  concluded  to  accept  the 
invitation.  They  were  received  in  Copenha- 
gen with  great  pomp  and  parade,  and  the 
winter  was  spent  in  festivities  and  rejoicings^ 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND   YOUTH.  11 

fn  the  spring  he  brought  his  bride  to  Scotland. 
The  whole  world  were  astonished  at  the  per- 
formance of  such  an  exploit  by  a  king,  espe- 
cially one  of  so  mild,  quiet,  and  grave  a  char- 
acter as  that  which  James  had  the  credit  of 
possessing. 

Young  Charles  was  very  weak  and  feeble  in 
his  infancy.  It  was  feared  that  he  would  not 
live  many  hours.  The  rite  of  baptism  was  im- 
mediately performed,  as  it  was,  in  those  days, 
considered  essential  to  the  salvation  of  a  child 
dying  in  infancy  that  it  should  be  baptized  be- 
fore it  died.  Notwithstanding  the  fears  that 
were  at  first  felt,  Charles  lingered  along  for 
some  days,  and  gradually  began  to  acquire  a 
little  strength.  His  feebleness  was  a  cause  of 
great  anxiety  and  concern  to  those  around  him  ; 
but  the  degree  of  interest  felt  in  the  little  suf- 
ferer's fate  was  very  much  less  than  it  would 
have  been  if  he  had  been  the  oldest  son.  He 
had  a  brother.  Prince  Henry,  who  was  older 
than  he,  and,  consequently,  heir  to  his  father's 
crown.  It  was  not  probable,  therefore,  that 
Charles  would  ever  be  king  ;  and  the  import- 
ance of  everything  connected  with  his  birth 
and  his  welfare  was  very  much  diminished  on 
that  account. 

It  was  only  about  two  years  after  Charles's 
birth  that  Queen  Elizabeth  died,  and  King 
James  succeeded  to  the  English  throne.     A 


12  KING   CHARLES    E. 

messenger  came  with  all  speed  to  Scotland  tc 
announce  the  fact.  He  rode  night  and  day. 
He  arrived  at  the  King's  palace  in  the  night. 
He  gained  admission  to  the  king's  chamber, 
and,  kneeling  at  his  bedside,  proclaimed  him 
King  of  England.  James  immediately  pre- 
pared to  bid  his  Scotch  subjects  farewell,  and 
to  proceed  to  England  to  take  possession  of  his 
new  realm.  Queen  Anne  was  to  follow  him 
in  a  week  or  two,  and  the  other  children, 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  ;  but  Charles  was  too 
feeble  to  go. 

In  those  early  days  there  was  a  prevailing  be- 
lief in  Scotland,  and,  in  fact,  the  opinion  still 
lingers  there,  that  certain  persons  among  the 
old  Highlanders  had  what  they  called  the  gift 
of  the  second  sight — that  is,  the  power  of  fore- 
seeing futurity  in  some  mysterious  and  incom- 
prehensible way.  An  incident  is  related  in  the 
old  histories  connected  with  Charles's  infancy, 
which  is  a  good  illustration  of  this.  While 
King  James  was  preparing  to  leave  Scotland, 
to  take  possession  of  the  English  throne,  an  old 
Highland  laird  came  to  bid  him  farewell.  He 
gave  the  King  many  parting  counsels  and  good 
wishes,  and  then,  overlooking  the  older  brother. 
Prince  Henry,  he  went  directly  to  Charles,  who 
was  then  about  two  years  old,  and  bowed  be- 
fore him,  and  kissed  his  hand  with  the  greatest 
appearance   of  regard  and  veneration.     King 


HIS   CHILDHOOD   AND   YOUTH.  l3 

James  undertook  to  correct  his  supposed  mis- 
take, by  telling  him  that  that  was  his  second 
son,  and  that  the  other  boy  was  the  heir  to  the 
crown.  ";N"o,"  said  the  old  laird,  ^*I  am  not 
mistaken.  I  know  to  whom  I  am  speaking. 
This  child,  now  in  his  nurse's  arms,  will  be 
greater  than  his  brother.  This  is  the  one  who 
is  to  convey  his  father's  name  and  titles  to  suc- 
ceeding generations."  This  prediction  was 
fulfilled  ;  for  the  robust  and  healthy  Henry 
died,  and  the  feeble  and  sickly-looking  Charles 
lived  and  grew,  and  succeeded,  in  due  time,  to 
his  father's  throne. 

Now  inasmuch  as,  at  the  time  when  this  pre- 
diction was  uttered,  there  seemed  to  be  little 
human  probability  of  its  fulfilment,  it  at- 
tracted attention  ;  its  unexpected  and  startling 
character  made  every  one  notice  and  remem- 
ber it ;  and  the  old  laird  was  at  once  an  object 
of  interest  and  wonder.  It  is  probable  that 
this  desire  to  excite  the  admiration  of  the  au- 
ditors, mingled  insensibly  with  a  sort  of  poetic 
enthusiasm,  which  a  rude  age  and  mountainous 
scenery  always  inspires,  was  the  origin  of  a 
great  many  such  predictions  as  these  j  and 
then,  in  the  end  those  only  which  turned  out  to 
be  true  were  remembered,  while  the  rest  were 
forgotten  ;  and  this  was  the  way  that  the  reality 
of  such  prophetic  powers  came  to  be  generally 
believed  in. 


14  KING   CHARLES  I. 

Feeble  and  uncertain  of  life  as  the  infant 
Charles  appeared  to  be,  they  conferred  upon 
him,  as  is  customary  in  the  case  of  young 
princes,  various  titles  of  nobility.  He  was  made 
a  duke,  a  marquis,  an  earl,  and  a  baron,  before 
he  had  strength  enough  to  lift  up  his  head  in 
his  nurse's  arms.  His  title  as  duke  was  Duke 
of  Albany  ;  and  as  this  was  the  highest  of  his 
nominal  honors,  he  was  generally  known  under 
that  designation  while  he  remained  in  Scotland. 

When  his  father  left  him,  in  order  to  go  to 
England  and  take  possession  of  his  new  throne, 
he  appointed  a  governess  to  take  charge  of  the 
health  and  education  of  the  young  duke.  This 
governess  was  Lady  Gary.  The  reason  why 
she  was  appointed  was,  not  because  of  her  pos- 
sessing any  peculiar  qualifications  for  such  a 
charge,  but  because  her  husband.  Sir  Eobert 
Gary,  had  been  the  messenger  employed  by  the 
British  Government  to  communicate  to  James 
the  death  of  Elizabeth,  and  to  announce  to  him 
his  accession  to  the  throne.  The  bearer  of 
good  news  to  a  monarch  must  always  be  re- 
warded, and  James  recompensed  Sir  Robert  for 
his  service  by  appointing  his  wife  to  the  post  of 
governess  of  his  infant  son.  The  office  un- 
doubtedly had  its  honors  and  emoluments, 
with  very  little  of  responsibility  or  care. 

One  of  the  chief  residences  of  the  English 
monarchs  is  Windsor  Castle.     It  is  situated 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  15 

above  London,  on  the  Thames,  on  the  southern 
shore.  It  is  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the 
river  and  the  delightful  valley  through  which 
the  river  here  meanders.  In  the  rear  is  a  very 
extensive  park  or  forest,  which  is  penetrated  in 
every  direction  by  rides  and  walks  almost  innu- 
merable. It  has  been  for  a  long  time  the  chief 
country  residence  of  the  British  kings.  It  is 
very  spacious,  containing  within  its  walls  many 
courts  and  quadrangles,  with  various  buildings 
surrounding  them,  some  ancient  and  some 
modern.  Here  King  James  held  his  court 
after  his  arrival  in  England,  and  in  about  a 
year  he  sent  for  the  little  Charles  to  join  him. 
The  child  traveled  very  slowly,  and  by  very 
easy  stages,  his  nurses  and  attendants  watch- 
ing over  him  with  great  solicitude  all  the  way. 
The  journey  was  made  in  the  month  of  October. 
His  mother  watched  his  arrival  with  great 
interest.  Being  so  feeble  and  helpless,  he  was, 
of  course,  her  favorite  child.  By  an  instinct 
which  very  strongly  evinces  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  which  implanted  it,  a  mother  always 
bestows  a  double  portion  of  her  love  upon  the 
frail,  the  helpless,  and  the  suffering.  Instead 
of  being  wearied  out  with  protracted  and  in- 
cessant calls  for  watchfulness  and  care,  she 
feels  only  a  deeper  sympathy  and  love,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  infirmities  which  call  for  them, 
and  thus  finds  her  highest  happiness  in  what 

2— cjj*r:e«  I. 


16  XING   CHARLES  I. 

we  might  expect  would  be  a  weariness  and  a 
toil. 

Little  Charles  was  four  years  old  when  he 
reached  Windsor  Castle.  They  celebrated  his 
arrival  with  great  rejoicings,  and  a  day  or  two 
afterwards  they  invested  him  with  the  title  of 
Duke  of  York,  a  still  higher  distinction  than  he 
had  before  attained.  Soon  after  this,  when  he 
was  perhaps  five  or  six  years  of  age,  a  gentle- 
man was  appointed  to  take  the  charge  of  his 
education.  His  health  gradually  improved, 
though  he  still  continued  helpless  and  feeble. 
It  was  a  long  time  before  he  could  walk,  on  ac- 
count of  some  malformation  of  his  limbs.  He 
learned  to  talk,  too,  very  late  and  very  slowly. 
Besides  the  general  feebleness  of  his  constitu- 
tion, which  kept  him  back  in  all  these  things, 
there  was  an  impediment  in  his  speech,  which 
affected  him  very  much  in  childhood,  and 
which,  in  fact,  never  entirely  disappeared. 

As  soon,  however,  as  he  commenced  his 
studies  under  his  new  tutor,  he  made  much 
greater  progress  than  had  been  expected.  It 
was  soon  observed  that  the  feebleness  which 
had  attached  to  him  pertained  more  to  the 
body  than  to  the  mind.  He  advanced  with 
considerable  rapidity  in  his  learning.  His 
progress  was,  in  fact,  in  some  degree,  promoted 
by  his  bodily  infirmities,  which  kept  him  from 
playing  with  the  other  boys  of  the  court,  and 


HIS   CHILDHOOD  AND   YOUTH.  17 

led  him  to  like  to  be  still,  and  to  retire  from 
scenes  of  sport  and  pleasure  which  he  could 
not  share. 

The  same  cause  operated  to  make  him  not 
agreeable  as  a  companion,  and  he  was  not  a 
favorite  among  those  around  him.  They 
called  him  Bab\j  Charley.  His  temper  seemed 
to  be  in  some  sense  soured  by  -the  feeling  of 
his  inferiority,  and  by  the  jealousy  he  would 
naturally  experience  in  finding  himself,  the 
son  of  a  king,  so  outstripped  in  athletic  sports 
by  those  whom  he  regarded  as  his  inferiors  in 
rank  and  station. 

The  lapse  of  a  few  years,  however,  after  this 
time,  made  a  total  change  in  Charles's  position 
and  prospects.  His  health  improved,  and  his 
constitution  began  to  be  confirmed  and  estab- 
lished. When  he  was  about  twelve  years  of 
age,  too,  his  brother  Henry  died.  This  cir- 
cumstance made  an  entire  change  in  all  his 
prospects  of  life.  The  eyes  of  the  whole  king- 
dom, and,  in  fact,  of  all  Europe,  were  now 
upon  him  as  the  future  sovereign  of  England. 
His  sister  Elizabeth,  who  was  a  few  years  older 
than  himself,  was,  about  this  time,  married  to 
a  German  prince,  with  great  pomp  and  cere- 
mony, young  Charles  acting  the  part  of  bride- 
man.  In  consequence  of  his  new  position  as 
heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  he  was  advanced 
to  new  honors,  and  had  new  titles  conferred 


18  KING   CHARLES   I. 

upon  him,  until  at  last,  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age,  he  was  made  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
certain  revenues  were  appropriated  to  support 
a  court  for  him,  that  he  might  be  surrounded 
with  external  circumstances  and  insignia  of 
rank  and  power,  corresponding  with  his  pros- 
pective greatness. 

In  the  mean  time  his  health  and  strength 
rapidly  improved,  and  with  the  improvement 
came  a  taste  for  manly  and  athletic  sports,  and 
the  attainment  of  excellence  in  them.  He 
became  very  famous  for  his  skill  in  all  the 
exploits  and  performances  of  the  young  men 
of  those  days,  such  as  shooting,  riding,  vault- 
ing, and  tilting  at  tournaments.  From  being 
a  weak,  sickly,  and  almost  helpless  child,  he 
became,  at  twenty,  an  active,  athletic  young 
man,  full  of  life  and  spirit,  and  ready  for  any 
romantic  enterprise.  In  fact,  when  he  was 
twenty-three  years  old,  he  embarked  in  a 
romantic  enterprise  which  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  all  the  world.  This  enterprise  will 
presently  be  described. 

There  was  at  this  time,  in  the  court  of  King 
James,  a  man  who  became  very  famous  after- 
ward as  a  favorite  and  follower  of  Charles.  He 
is  known  in  history  under  the  name  of  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham.  His  name  was  origin- 
ally George  Villiers.  He  was  a  very  handsome 
young  man,  and  he  seems  to  have  attracted 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  19 

King  James's  attention  at  first  on  this  account. 
James  found  him  a  convenient  attendant,  and 
made  him,  at  last,  his  principal  favorite.  He 
raised  him  to  a  high  rank,  and  conferred  upon 
him,  among  other  titles,  that  of  Duke  of 
Buckingham.  The  other  persons  about  the 
court  were  very  envious  and  jealous  of  his 
influence  and  power  ;  but  they  were  obliged  to 
submit  to  it.  He  lived  in  great  state  and 
splendor,  and  for  many  years  was  looked  up  to 
by  the  whole  kingdom  as  one  of  the  greatest 
personages  in  the  realm.  We  shall  learn  here- 
after how  he  came  to  his  end. 

If  the  reader  imagines,  from  the  accounts 
which  have  been  given  thus  far  in  this  chapter 
of  the  pomp  and  parade  of  royalty,  of  the  cas- 
tles and  the  ceremonies,  the  titles  of  nobility, 
and  the  various  insignia  of  rank  and  power, 
which  we  have  alluded  to  so  often,  that  the 
mode  of  life  which  royalty  led  in  those  days 
was  lofty,  dignified,  and  truly  great,  he  will  be 
very  greatly  deceived.  All  these  things  were 
merely  for  show — things  put  on  for  public  dis- 
play, to  gratify  pride  and  impress  the  people, 
who  never  looked  behind  the  scenes,  with  high 
ideas  of  the  grandeur  of  those  who,  as  they 
were  taught,  ruled  over  them  by  a  divine  right. 
It  would  be  hard  to  find,  in  any  class  of  society 
except  those  reputed  infamous,  more  low,  gross, 
and  vulgar  modes  of  life  than  have   been  ex- 


20  KING  CHARLES  I. 

hibited  generally  in  the  royal  palaces  of  Europe 
for  the  last  five  hundred  years.  King  James 
the  First  has,  among  English  sovereigns,  rather 
a  high  character  for  sobriety  and  gravity  of 
deportment,  and  purity  of  morals ;  but  the 
glimpses  we  get  of  the  real,  everyday  routine 
of  his  domestic  life,  are  such  as  to  show  that 
the  pomp  and  parade  of  royalty  is  mere  glitter- 
ing tinsel,  after  all. 

The  historians  of  the  day  tell  such  stories  as 
these.  The  king  was  at  one  time  very  dejected 
and  melancholy,  when  Buckingham  contrived 
this  plan  to  amuse  him.  In  the  first  place, 
however,  we  ought  to  say,  in  order  to  illustrate 
the  terms  on  which  he  and  Buckingham  lived 
together,  that  the  king  always  called  Buck- 
ingham Steeny,  which  was  a  contraction  of 
Stephen.  St.  Stephen  was  always  represented, 
in  the  Catholic  pictures  of  the  Saints,  as  a  very 
handsome  man,  and  Buckingham  being  hand- 
some too,  James  called  him  Steeny  by  way  of 
compliment.  Steeny  called  the  king  his  dad, 
and  used  to  sign  himself,  in  his  letters,  ''your 
slave  and  dog  Steeny."  There  are  extant  some 
letters  which  passed  between  the  king  and  his 
favorite,  written,  on  the  part  of  the  king,  in 
a  style  of  grossness  and  indecency  such  that 
the  chroniclers  of  those  days  said  that  they 
were  not  fit  to  be  printed.  They  would  not 
''blot  their  pages"  with   them,   they    said. 


HIS   CHILDHOOD   AND  YOUTH.  21 

King  Charles's  letters  were  more  properly  ex- 
pressed. 

To  return,  then,  to  our  story.  The  king 
was .  very  much  dejected  and  melancholy. 
•Steeny,  in  order  to  divert  him,  had  a  pig 
dressed  up  in  the  clothes  of  an  infant  child. 
Buckingham's  mother,  who  was  a  countess, 
personated  the  nurse,  dressed  also  carefully 
for  the  occasion.  Another  person  put  on  a 
bishop's  robes,  satin  gown,  lawn  sleeves,  and 
the  other  pontifical  ornaments.  They  also 
provided  a  baptismal  font,  a  prayer-book,  and 
other  things  necessary  for  a  religious  cere- 
mony, and  then  invited  the  king  to  come  in  to 
attend  a  baptism.  The  king  came,  and  the 
pretended  bishop  began  to  read  the  service, 
the  assistants  looking  gravely  on,  until  the 
squealing  of  the  pig  brought  all  gravity  to  an 
end.  The  king  was  not  pleased ;  but  the  his- 
torian thinks  the  reason  was,  not  any  objection 
which  he  had  to  such  a  profanation,  but  to  his 
not  happening  to  be  in  a  mood  for  it  at  that 
time. 

There  was  a  negotiation  going  on  for  a  long 
time  for  a  marriage  between  one  of  the  king's 
sons,  first  Henry,  and  afterward  Charles,  and 
a  princess  of  Spain.  At  one  time  the  king  lost 
some  of  the  papers,  and  was  storming  about 
the  palace  in  a  great  rage  because  he  could  not 
find  them.     At  last  he  chanced  to  meet  a  cer- 


^^  KING   CHARLES   I. 

tain  Scotchman,  a  servant  of  his,  named  Gib, 
and,  like  a  vexed  and  impatient  child,  who  lays 
the  charge  of  a  lost  plaything  upon  anybody 
who  happens  to  be  at  hand  to  receive  it,  he 
put  the  responsibility  of  the  loss  of  the  papers 
upon  Gib.  ^^  I  remember,"  said  he,  '*I  gave 
them  to  you  to  take  care  of.  What  have  you 
done  with  them  ?  "  The  faithful  servant  fell 
upon  his  knees,  and  protested  that  he  had  not 
received  them.  The  king  was  only  made  the 
more  angry  by  this  contradiction,  and  kicked 
the  Scotchman  as  he  kneeled  upon  the  floor. 
The  man  rose  and  left  the  apartment,  sayings 
*^I  have  always  been  faithful  to  your  majesty, 
and  have  not  deserved  such  treatment  as  this. 
I  cannot  remain  in  your  service  under  such  a 
degradation.  I  shall  never  see  you  again." 
He  left  the  palace,  and  went  away. 

A  short  time  after  this,  the  person  to  whose 
custody  the  king  had  really  committed  the 
papers  came  in,  and,  on  learning  that  they 
were  wanted,  produced  them.  The  king  was 
ashamed  of  his  conduct.  He  sent  for  his 
Scotch  servant  again,  and  was  not  easy  until 
he  was  found  and  brought  into  his  presence. 
He  then  kneeled  before  him  and  asked  his  for- 
giveness, and  said  he  should  not  rise  till  he 
had  forgiven  him.  Gib  was  disposed  to  evade 
the  request,  and  urged  the  king  to  rise ;  but 
James  would  not  do  so  until  he  had  said  he  for- 


HIS   CHILDHOOD    AND    YOUTH.  28 

gave  him,  in  so  many  words.  The  whole  case 
shows  how  little  of  di^^nity  and  noble  bearing 
there  really  was  in  the  manners  and  conduct  of 
the  king  in  his  daily  life,  though  we  are  almost 
ready  to  overlook  the  ridiculous  childishness 
and  folly  of  liis  fault,  on  account  of  the  truly 
noble  frankness  and  honesty  with  which  he 
acknowledged  it. 

Thus,  though  everything  in  which  royalty 
appeared  before  the  public  was  conducted  with 
great  pomp  and  parade,  this  external  magnifi- 
cence was  then,  and  always  has  been,  an  out- 
side show,  witliout  anything  corresponding  to 
it  within.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  of 
England  saw  only  the  outside.  They  gazed 
with  admiration  at  the  spectacle  of  magnifi- 
cence and  splendor  which  royalty  always  pre- 
sented to  their  eyes,  whenever  they  beheld  it 
from  tlie  distant  and  humble  points  of  view 
which  their  position  afforded  them.  Prince 
Charles,  on  the  other  hand,  was  behind  the  cur- 
tain. His  childhood  and  youth  were  exposed 
fully  to  all  the  real  influences  of  these  scenes. 
The  people  of  England  submitted  to  be  gov- 
erned by  such  men,  not  because  they  thought 
them  qualified  to  govern,  or  that  the  circum- 
stances under  which  their  characters  were 
formed  were  such  as  were  calculated  to  form, 
in  a  proper  manner,  the  minds  of  the  rulers  of 
a  Christian  people.     They  did  not  know  what 


24 


KING   CHARLES   I. 


those  circumstances  were.  In  their  concep- 
tions they  had  grand  ideas  of  royal  character 
and  life,  and  imagined  the  splendid  palaces 
which  some  saw,  but  more  only  heard  of,  at 
Westminster,  were  filled  with  true  greatness 
and  glory.  They  were  really  filled  with  vul- 
garity, vice,  and  shame.     James  was  to  them 


Windsor  Castle. 
King  James  the  First,  monarch  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, France,  and  Ireland,  and  Charles  was 
Charles,  Prince  of  Wales,  Duke  of  York,  and 
heir-apparent  to  the  throne.  Whereas,  within 
the  palace,  to  all  who  saw  them  and  knew  them 
there,  and  really,  so  far  as  their  true  moral  posi- 
tion was  concerned,  the  father  was  ^'  Old 
Dad,"  and  the  son,  what  his  father  always 
called  him  till  he  was  twenty-four  years  old, 
"Baby  Charley/' 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   EXPEDITION   INTO   SPAIN. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  understand 
fully  the  nature  of  the  romantic  enterprise  in 
which,  as  we  have  already  said,  Prince  Charles 
embarked  when  he  was  a  little  over  twenty 
years  of  age,  we  must  premise  that  Frederic, 
the  German  prince  who  married  Charles's  sis- 
ter Elizabeth  some  years  before,  was  the  ruler 
of  a  country  in  Germany  called  the  Palatinate, 
It  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  Frederic's 
title,  as  a  ruler  of  this  country,  was  Elector 
Palatine.  There  are  a  great  many  indepen- 
dent states  in  Germany,  whose  sovereigns  have 
various  titles,  and  are  possessed  of  various  pre- 
rogatives and  powers. 

^^ow  it  happened  that,  at  this  time,  very 
fierce  civil  wars  were  raging  between  the  Cath- 
olics and  the  Protestants  in  Germany.  Fred- 
eric got  drawn  into  these  wars  on  the  Pretest- 
ant  side.  His  motive  was  not  any  desire  to 
promote  the  progress  of  what  he  considered  the 
true  faith,  but  only  a  wish  to  extend  his  own 

25 


26  KING   CHARLES   T. 

dominions,  and  add  to  his  own  power ;  for  he 
had  been  promised  a  kingdom,  in  addition  to 
his  Palatinate,  if  he  would  assist  the  people  of 
the  kingdom  to  gain  the  victory  over  their 
Catholic  foes.  He  embarked  in  this  enterprise 
without  consulting  with  James,  his  father-in- 
law,  knowing  that  he  would  probably  disapprove 
of  such  dangerous  ambition.  James  was,  in 
fact,  very  sorry  afterward  to  hear  of  Frederic's 
having  engaged  in  such  a  contest. 

The  result  was  quite  as  disastrous  as  James 
feared.  Frederic  not  only  failed  of  getting  his 
new  kingdom,  but  he  provoked  the  rage  of  the 
Catholic  powers  against  whom  he  had  under- 
taken to  contend,  and  they  poured  a  great  army 
into  his  own  original  territory,  and  made  an 
easy  conquest  of  it.  Frederic  fled  to  Holland, 
and  remained  there  a  fugitive  and  an  exile, 
hoping  to  obtain  help  in  some  way  from 
James,  in  his  efforts  to  recover  his  lost 
dominions. 

The  people  of  England  felt  a  great  interest 
in  Frederic's  unhappy  fate,  and  were  very  de- 
sirous that  James  should  raise  an  army  and 
give  him  some  efficient  assistance.  One  reason 
for  this  was  that  they  were  Protestants,  and 
they  were  always  ready  to  embark,  on  the 
Protestant  side,  in  the  Continental  quarrels. 
Another  reason  was  their  interest  in  Elizabeth, 
the  wife  of  Frederic,  who  had  so  recently  left 


THE  EXPEDITION  INTO  SPAIN.  27 

England  a  blooming  bride,  and  whom  they 
still  considered  as  in  some  sense  pertaining  to 
the  royal  family  of  England,  and  as  having  a 
right  to  look  to  all  her  father's  subjects  for 
protection. 

But  King  James  himself  had  no  inclination 
to  go  to  war  in  such  a  quarrel.  He  was  inac- 
tive in  mind  and  childish,  and  he  had  little 
taste  for  warlike  enterprises.  He  undertook, 
however,  to  accomplish  the  object  in  another 
way.  The  King  of  Spain,  being  one  of  the 
most  powerful  of  the  Catholic  sovereigns,  had 
great  influence  in  all  their  councils.  He  had 
also  a  beautiful  daughter.  Donna  Maria,  called, 
as  Spanish  princesses  are  styled,  the  Infanta. 
Now  James  conceived  the  design  of  proposing 
that  his  son  Charles  should  marry  Donna 
Maria,  and  that,  in  the  treaty  of  marriage, 
there  should  be  a  stipulation  providing  that  the 
Palatinate  should  be  restored  to  Frederic. 

These  negotiations  were  commenced,  and 
they  went  on  two  or  three  years  without  mak- 
ing any  sensible  progress.  Donna  Maria  was 
a  Catholic,  and  Charles  a  Protestant.  Now  a 
Catholic  could  not  marry  a  Protestant  without 
a  special  dispensation  from  the  Pope.  To  get 
this  dispensation  required  new  negotiations  and 
delays.  In  the  midst  of  it  all,  the  King  of  Spain, 
Donna  Maria's  father,  died,  and  his  son,  her 
brother,  named  Philip,  succeeded  him.     Then 


28  KING   CHARLES   I. 

the  negotiations  had  all  to  be  commenced  anew. 
It  was  supposed  that  the  King  of  Spain  did  not 
wish  to  have  the  affair  concluded,  but  liked  to 
have  it  in  discussion,  as  it  tended  to  keep  the 
King  of  England  more  or  less  under  his  con- 
trol. So  they  kept  sending  ambassadors  back 
and  forth,  with  drafts  of  treaties,  articles,  con- 
ditions, and  stipulations  without  number. 
There  were  endless  discussions  about  securing 
to  Donna  Maria  the  full  enjoyment  of  the 
Catholic  religion  in  England,  and  express 
agreements  were  proposed  and  debated  in  re- 
spect to  her  having  a  chapel,  and  priests,  and 
the  right  to  celebrate  mass,  and  to  enjoy,  in 
fact,  all  the  other  privileges  which  she  had 
been  accustomed  to  exercise  in  her  own  native 
land.  James  did  not  object.  He  agreed  to 
everything  ;  but  still,  somehow  or  other,  the 
arrangement  could  not  be  closed.  There  was 
always  some  pretext  for  delay. 

At  last  Buckingham  proposed  to  Charles 
that  they  two  should  set  off  for  Spain  in  per- 
son, and  see  if  they  could  not  settle  the  affair. 
Buckingham's  motive  was  partly  a  sort  of 
reckless  daring,  which  made  him  love  any 
sort  of  adventure,  and  partly  a  desire  to  cir- 
cumvent and  thwart  a  rival  of  his,  the  Earl  of 
Bristol,  who  had  charge  of  the  negotiations. 
It  may  seem  to  the  reader  that  a  simple  jour- 
ney from  London  to  Madrid,  of  a  young  man, 


THE   EXPEDITION   INTO   SPAIN.  29 

for  tlip  purpose  of  visiting  a  lady  whom  he  was 
wishing  to  espouse,  was  no  such  extraordi- 
nary undertaking  as  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  spirited  young  man  to  it  from  love  of 
adventure.  The  truth  is,  however,  that,  with 
tlie  ideas  that  then  prevailed  in  respect  to 
royal  etiquette,  there  was  something  very  un- 
usual in  this  plan.  The  prince  and  Bucking- 
ham knew  very  well  that  the  consent  of  the 
statesmen  and  high  officers  of  the  realm  could 
never  be  obtained,  and  that  their  only  alter- 
native was,  accordingly,  to  go  off  secretly  and 
in  disguise. 

It  seemed,  however,  to  be  rather  necessary 
to  get  the  king's  consent.  But  Buckingham 
did  not  anticipate  much  difficulty  in  this,  as 
he  was  accustomed  to  manage  James  almost 
like  a  child.  He  had  not,  however,  been  on 
very  good  terms  with  Charles,  having  been  ac- 
customed to  treat  him  in  the  haughty  and 
imperious  manner  which  James  would  usually 
yield  to,  but  which  Charles  was  more  inclined 
to  resist  and  resent.  When  Buckingham,  at 
length,  conceived  of  this  scheme  of  going  into 
Spain,  he  changed  his  deportment  toward 
Charles,  and  endeavored,  by  artful  dissimula- 
tion, to  gain  his  kind  regard.  He  soon  suc- 
ceed, and  then  he  proposed  his  plan. 

Ho  roprosented  to  Charles  that  the  sole 
cair-^  of  the  delays  in  settling  the  question  of 

3-rharl«H  r.      . 


so  KING  CHARLKS  1. 

his  marriage  was  because  it  was  left  so  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  ambassadors,  negotiators,  and 
statesmen,  who  involved  everything  in  endless 
mazes.  '^  Take  the  affair  into  your  own 
hands,"  said  he,  *^  like  a  man.  Set  off  with 
me,  and  go  at  once  into  Spain.  Astonish 
them  with  your  sudden  and  unexpected  pres- 
ence. The  Infanta  will  be  delighted  at  such 
a  proof  of  your  ardor,  courage,  and  devotion, 
and  will  do  all  in  her  power  to  co-operate  with 
you  in  bringing  the  affair  at  once  to  a  close. 
Besides,  the  whole  world  will  admire  the  orig- 
inality and  boldness  of  the  achievement." 

Charles  was  easily  persuaded.  -  The  next 
thing  was  to  get  the  king's  consent.  Charles 
and  Buckingham  went  to  his  palace  one  day, 
and,  watching  their  opportunity  when  he  was 
pretty  merry  with  wine,  Charles  told  him  he 
had  a  favor  to  ask,  and  wanted  his  father  to 
promise  to  grant  it  before  he  knew  what  it  was. 
James,  after  some  hesitation,  half  in  jest  and 
half  in  earnest,  agreed  to  it.  They  made  him 
promise  that  he  would  not  tell  any  one  what 
it  was,  and  then  explained  their  plan.  The 
king  was  thunderstruck  ;  his  amazement  so- 
bered him  at  once.  He  retracted  his  promise. 
He  never  could  consent  to  any  such  scheme. 

Buckingham  liere  interposed  with  his  aid. 
He  told  the  kiui^  it  was  perfectly  safe  for  tlie 
prince  to  go,  and  that  tliis  measure  was  the 


Cliuilen  J.jacei>.  ■>■/ 

Charles  and  Buckingham  Explaining  the  Plan. 


THE  EXPEDITION  INTO   SPAIN.  31 

only  plan  which  could  bring  the  marriage 
treaty  to  a  close.  Besides,  he  said,  if  he  and 
the  prince  were  there,  they  could  act  far  more 
effectually  than  any  ambassadors  in  securing 
the  restoration  of  the  Palatinate  to  Frederic. 
James  could  not  withstand  these  entreaties  and 
arguments,  and  he  finally  gave  a  reluctant  con- 
sent to  the  plan. 

He  repented,  however^  as  soon  as  the  con- 
sent was  given,  and  when  Charles  and  Buck- 
ingham came  next  to  see  him,  he  said  it  must 
be  given  up.  One  great  source  of  his  anxiety 
was  a  fear  that  his  son  might  be  taken  and 
kept  a  prisoner,  either  in  France  or  Spain,  and 
detained  a  long  time  in  captivity.  Such  a  cap- 
tive was  always,  in  those  days,  a  very  tempt- 
ing prize  to  a  rival  power.  Personages  of  very 
high  rank  may  be  detained  as  captives,  while 
all  the  time  those  who  detain  them  may  pre- 
tend not  to  confine  them  at  all,  the  guards  and 
sentinels  being  only  marks  of  regal  state,  and 
indications  of  the  desire  of  the  power  into 
whose  hands  they  have  fallen  to  treat  them  in 
a  manner  comporting  with  their  rank.  Then 
there  were  always,  in  those  days,  questions  and 
disputes  pending  between  the  rival  courts  of 
England,  France,  and  Spain,  out  of  which  it 
was  easy  to  get  a  pretext  for  detaining  any 
strolling  prince  who  might  cross  the  frontier, 
as  security  for  the  fulfilment  of  some  stipula- 


32  KING   CHARLES  T. 

tion,  or  for  doing  some  act  of  justice  claimed. 
James,  knowing  well  how  much  faith  and 
honor  were  to  be  expected  of  kings  and  courts, 
was  afraid  to  trust  his  son  in  French  or  Span- 
ish dominions.  He  said  he  certainly  could  not 
consent  to  his  going,  without  first  sending  to 
France,  at  least,  for  a  safe-conduct — that  is, 
a  paper  from  the  government,  pledging  the 
honor  of  tlu  king  not  to  molest  or  interrupt 
him  in  his  journey  through  his  dominions. 

Buckingham,  instead  of  attempting  to  reas- 
sure the  king  by  fresh  arguments  and  persua- 
sions, broke  out  into  a  passion,  accused  him  of 
violating  his  promise  not  to  reveal  their  plan 
to  any  one,  as  he  knew,  he  said,  that  this  new 
opposition  had  been  put  into  his  head  by  some 
of  his  counselors  to  whom  he  had  made  known 
the  design.  The  king  denied  this,  and  was 
terrified,  agitated,  and  distressed  by  Bucking- 
fiam's  violence.  He  wept  like  a  child.  His 
opposition  at  length  gave  way  a  second  time, 
and  he  said  they  might  go.  They  named  two 
attendants  whom  they  wanted  to  go  with 
them.  One  was  an  officer  of  the  king's  liouse- 
hold,  named  Collington,  who  was  then  in  the 
anteroom.  They  asked  the  king  to  call  him 
in  to  see  if  he  would  go.  When  Collington 
came  in,  the  king  accosted  him  with,  *^  Here's 
Steeny  and  Baby  Charley  that  want  to  go  to 
Spain  and  fetch  the  Infanta.     What  think  you 


THE  EXPEDITION  INTO  SPAIN.  33 

of  it  ?  "  Collington  did  not  think  well  of  it  at 
all.  There  followed  a  new  relapse  on  the  part 
of  the  king  from  his  consent,  a  new  storm  of 
anger  from  Buckingliam,  more  sullen  obsti- 
nacy on  tlie  part  of  Charles,  with  profane 
criminations  and  recriminations  one  against 
another.  The  whole  scene  was  what,  if  it  had 
occurred  anywliere  else  tlian  in  a  palace, 
would  have  beenj3alled  a  brawl. 

It  ended,  as  brawls  usually  do,  in  the  tri- 
umph of  the  most  unreasonable  and  violent. 
James  threw  himself  upon  a  bed  wiiich  was  in 
the  room,  weeping  bitterly,  and  saying  that 
they  would  go,  and  he  should  lose  his  Baby 
Charley.  Considering  that  Charles  was  now 
the  monarch's  only  child  remaining  at  home, 
and  that,  as  heir  to  the  crown,  his  life  was  of 
great  consequence  to  the  realm,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  his  father  was  distressed  at  the 
idea  of  his  exposing  himself  to  danger  on  such 
an  expedition  ;  but  one  not  accustomed  to  what 
is  behind  the  scenes  in  royal  life  would  expect 
a  little  more  dignity  and  propriety  in  the  mode 
of  expressing  paternal  solicitude  from  a  king. 

Charles  and  Buckingham  set  off  secretly 
from  London  ;  their  two  attendants  were  to 
join  them  in  different  places — the  last  at  Do- 
ver, where  tliey  were  to  embark.  They  laid 
aside  all  marks  of  distinction  in  dress,  such  as 
persons  Qt  high  ^ ''  used  tQ  wear  in  those 


34  KING   CHARLES   I. 

days,  and  took  the  garb  of  the  common  people. 
They  put  on  wigs,  also,  the  hair  being  very 
long,  so  as  to  shade  the  face  and  alter  the  ex- 
pression of  their  countenances.  These  exter- 
nal disguises,  however,  were  all  that  they  could 
command.  They  could  not  assume  the  modest 
and  quiet  air  and  manner  of  persons  in  the  or- 
dinary walks  of  life,  but  made  such  displays, 
and  were  so  liberal  in  the  use  of  their  money, 
and  carried  such  an  air  and  manner  in  all  that 
they  did  and  said,  that  all  who  had  any  inter- 
course with  them  perceived  that  they  were  in 
disguise.  They  were  supposed  to  be  wild 
blades,  out  on  some  frolic  or  other,  but  still 
they  were  allowed  to  pass  along  without  any 
molestation. 

They  were,  however,  stopped  at  Dover, 
where  .in  some  way  they  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  mayor  of  the  town.  Dover  is  on 
the  Channel,  opposite  to  Calais,  at  the  narrow- 
est point.  It  was,  of  course,  especially  in  those 
days,  the  point  where  the  principal  intercourse 
between  the  two  nations  centered.  The  mag- 
istrates of  the  two  towns  were  obliged,  conse- 
quently, to  be  on  the  alert,  to  prevent  the  es- 
cape of  fugitives  and  criminals,  as  well  as  to 
guard  against  the  efforts  of  smugglers,  or  the 
entrance  of  spies  or  other  secret  enemies.  The 
Mayor  of  Dover  arrested  our  heroes.  They 
told  him  that  their  names  were  Toni  Smith 


THE   EXPEDITION   INTO    SPAIN.  35 

and  Jack  Smith  ;  these,  in  fact,  were  the  names 
with  wliich  they  had  traveled  through  England 
thus  far.  They  said  that  they  were  traveling 
for  amusement.  The  mayor  did  not  believe 
tliem.  He  thought  they  were  going  across  to 
the  French  coast  to  fight  a  duel.  This  was 
often  done  in  those  days.  They  then  told  him 
that  they  were  indeed  persons  of  rank  in  dis- 
guise, and  that  they  were  going  to  inspect  the 
English  fleet.  He  finally  allowed  them  to  em- 
bark. 

On  landing  at  Calais,  they  traveled  post  to 
Paris,  strictly  preserving  their  incognito,  but 
assuming  such  an  air  and  bearing  as  to  create 
the  impression  that  they  were  not  what  they 
pretended.  When  they  reached  Paris,  Buck- 
ingham could  not  resist  the  temptation  of 
showing  Charles  a  little  of  life,  and  he  con- 
trived to  get  admitted  to  a  party  at  court, 
where  Charles  saw,  among  other  ladies  who 
attracted  his  attention,  the  Princess  Henrietta. 
He  was  much  struck  with  her  beauty  and 
arace,  but  he  little  thought  that  it  was  this 
princess,  and  not  the  Infanta  whom  he  was 
going  in  pursuit  of,  who  was  really  to  become 
his  wife,  and  the  future  Queen  of  Eng- 
land. 

The  young  travelers  thought  it  not  prudent 
to  remain  long  in  Paris,  and  they  accordingly 
left  that  city,  and  pressed  forward  as  rapidly 


B6  KIKG  CHARLES  t. 

as  possible  toward  the  Spanish  frontier.  They 
managed,  however,  to  conduct  always  in  such 
a  way  as  to  attract  attention.  Although  they 
were  probably  sincerely  desirous  of  not  having 
their  true  rank  and  character  known,  still  they 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  assume  such 
an  air  and  bearing  as  to  make  people  wonder 
who  they  were,  and  thus  increase  the  spirit  and 
adventure  of  their  journey.  At  Bordeaux 
they  received  invitations  from  some  grandees 
to  be  present  at  some  great  gala,  but  they  de- 
clined, saying  that  they  were  only  poor  gentle- 
men traveling  to  inform  their  minds,  and  were 
not  fit  to  appear  in  such  gay  assemblies. 

At  last  they  approached  Madrid.  They  had, 
besides  Collington,  another  attendant  who 
spoke  the  Spanish  language,  and  served  them 
as  an  interpreter.  They  separated  from  these 
two  the  day  before  they  entered  Madrid,  so  as 
to  attract  the  less  atttention.  Their  attend- 
ants were  to  be  left  behind  for  a  day,  and 
afterward  were  to  follow  them  into  the  city. 
The  name  of  the  British  ambassador  at  Madrid 
was  the  Earl  of  Bristol.  He  had  had  charge 
of  all  the  negotiations  in  respect  to  the  mar- 
riage, and  to  tlie  restoration  of  the  Palatinate, 
and  believed  that  he  had  brought  them  almost 
to  a  successful  termination.  He  lived  in  a 
palace  in  Madrid,  and,  as  is  customary  with 
the  ambassadors  of  great  powers  at  the  courts 


THE   EXPEDITION   INTO   SPAIN.  37 

of  great  powers,  in  a  style  of  the  highest  pomp 
and  splendor. 

Buckingham  took  the  prince  directly  to 
Bristol's  house.  Bristol  was  utterly  con- 
founded at  seeing  them.  Nothing  could  be 
worse,  he  said,  in  respect  to  the  completion 
of  the  treaty,  than  the  prince's  presence  in 
Madrid.  The  introduction  of  so  new  and  ex- 
traordinary an  element  into  the  affair  would 
undo  all  that  had  been  done,  and  lead  the 
King  of  Spain  to  begin  anew,  and  go  over  all 
the  ground  again.  In  speaking  of  this  ocur- 
rence  to  another,  he  said  that  just  as  he  was 
on  the  point  of  coming  to  a  satisfactory  con- 
clusion of  his  long  negotiations  and  toils,  a 
demon  in  the  shape  of  Prince  Charles  came 
suddenly  upon  the  stage  to  thwart  and  defeat 
them  all. 

The  Spanish  court  was  famous  in  those  days 
— in  fact,  it  has  always  been  famous — for  its 
punctilious  attention  to  etiquette  and  parade ; 
and  as  soon  as  the  prince's  arrival  was  known 
to  the  king,  he  immediately  began  to  make 
preparations  to  welcome  him  with  all  possible 
pomp  and  ceremony.  A  great  procession  was 
made  through  the  Prado,  which  is  a  street  iu 
Madrid  famous  for  promenades,  processions, 
and  public  displays  of  all  kinds.  In  moving 
through  the  city  on  tliis  occasion,  the  king  and 
Prince  Charles  walked  together,  the  monarch 


38  KING   CHARLES   I. 

thus  treating  the  prince  as  his  equal.  There 
was  a  great  canopy  of  state  borne  over  their 
heads  as  they  moved  along.  This  canopy  was 
supported  by  a  large  number  of  persons  oi'  the 
highest  rank.  The  streets,  and  the  windows 
and  balconies  of  the  houses  on  each  side,  were 
thronged  with  spectators,  dressed  in  the  gay 
and  splendid  court  dresses  of  those  times. 
When  they  reached  the  end  of  the  route,  and 
were  about  to  enter  the  gate  of  the  palace, 
there  was  a  delay  to  decide  which  should  enter 
first,  the  king  and  the  prince  each  insisting  on 
giving  the  precedence  to  the  other.  At  last  it 
was  settled  by  their  both  going  in  together. 

If  the  prince  thus,  on  the  one  hand,  derived 
some  benefit  in  the  gratification  of  his  pride 
by  the  Spanish  etiquette  and  parade,  he  suf- 
fered some  inconvenience  and  disappointment 
from  it,  on  the  other  hand,  by  its  excluding 
him  from  all  intercourse  or  acquaintance  with 
the  Infanta.  It  was  not  proper  for  the  young 
man  to  see  or  to  speak  to  the  young  lady,  in  such 
a  case  as  this,  until  the  arrangements  had 
been  more  fully  matured.  The  formalities  of 
the  engagement  must  have  proceeded  beyond 
the  point  which  they  had  yet  reached,  before 
the  bridegroom  could  be  admitted  to  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  the  bride.  It  is  true,  he 
could  see  her  in  public,  where  she  was  in  a 
crowd,  with  other  ladies  of  the   court,  and. 


THE  EXPEDITION   INTO   SPAIN.  39 

where  he  could  have  no  communication  with 
her  ;  but  this  was  all.  They  arranged  it,  how- 
ever, to  give  Charles  as  many  opportunities  of 
this  kind  as  possible.  They  got  up  shows  in 
which  the  prince  could  see  the  Infanta  among 
the  spectators  ;  and  they  arranged  tiltings  and 
ridings  at  the  ring,  and  other  athletic  sports, 
such  a^.  Charles  excelled  in,  and  let  him  per- 
form ills  exploits  in  her  presence.  His  rivals 
in  these  contests  did  not  have  the  incivility  to 
conquer  him,  and  his  performances  excited  ex- 
pressions, at  least,  of  universal  admiration. 

But  the  prince  and  Buckingham  did  not 
very  willingly  submit  to  the  stiffness  and  for- 
mality of  the  Spanish  court.  As  soon  as  they 
came  to  feel  a  little  at  home,  they  began  to  act 
with  great  fi'eedom.  At  one  time  the  prince 
learned  that  the  Infanta  was  going,  early  in  the 
morning,  to  take  a  walk  in  some  private  pleas- 
ure grounds,  at  a  country  house  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Madrid,  and  he  conceived  the  de- 
sign of  gaining  an  interview  with  her  there  by 
stealth.  He  accordingly  repaired  to  the  place, 
got  admitted  in  some  way  within  the  precincts 
of  the  palace,  and  contrived  to  clamber  over  a 
high  wall  which  separated  him  from  the  grounds 
in  which  the  Infanta  w^s  walking,  and  so  let 
himself  down  into  her  presence.  The  accounts 
do  not  state  whetlier  she  herself  was  pleased  or 
alarmed,  but  the  officer  who  had  her  in  charge. 


40  KING   CHARLES   I. 

an  old  nobleman,  was  very  niucli  alarmed,  and 
begged  the  prince  to  retire,  as  he  himself  would 
be  subject  to  a  very  severe  punishment  if  it 
were  known  that  he  had  allowed  such  an  inter- 
view. Finally  they  opened  the  door,  and  the 
prince  went  out.  Many  people  were  pleased 
with  this  and  similar  adventures  of  the  prince 
and  of  Buckingham,  but  the  leading  persons 
about  the  court  were  displeased  with  them. 
Their  precise  and  formal  notions  of  propriety 
were  very  much  shocked  by  such  freedoms. 

Besides,  it  was  soon  found  that  the  charac- 
ters of  these  high-born  visitors,  especially  that 
of  Buckingham,  were  corrupt,  and  their  lives 
very  irregular.  Buckingham  was  accustomed 
to  treat  King  James  in  a  very  bold,  familiar, 
and  imperious  manner,  and  he  fell  insensibly 
into  the  same  habits  of  intercourse  with  those 
about  him  in  Spain.  The  little  reserve  and 
caution  which  he  manifested  at  first  sooii  wore 
otf,  and  he  began  to  be  very  generally  disliked. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  negotiation  was,  as  Bris- 
tol had  expected,  very  much  put  back  by  the 
prince's  arrival.  The  King  of  Spain  formed 
new  plans,  and  thought  of  new  conditions  to 
impose.  The  Catholics,  too,  thought  that 
Charles's  coming  thus  into  a  Catholic  country, 
indicated  some  leaning,  on  his  part,  toward 
the  Catholic  faith.  The  Pope  actually  wrote 
him  a  long  letter,  the  object  of  which  was  to 


Charleii  J./uce  p.  MJ 

VviuQ^  Ciiarles  burprieing  the  Infanta. 


THE  EXPEDITION   INTO   SPAIN.  4l 

draw  him  off  from  the  ranks  of  Protestantism. 
Charles  wrote  a  civil,  but  rather  an  evasive 
reply. 

In  the  mean  time*  King  James  wrote  childish 
letters  from  time  to  time  to  his  two  dear  boys, 
as  he  called  them,  and  he  sent  them  a  great 
many  presents  of  jewelry  and  splendid  dresses, 
some  for  them  to  wear  themselves,  and  some 
for  the  prince  to  offer  as  gifts  to  the  Infanta. 
Among  these,  he  describes  in  one  of  his  letters,  a 
little  mirror,  set  in  a  case  which  was  to  be  worn 
hung  at  the  girdle.  He  wrote  to  Charles  that 
when  he  gave  this  mirror  to  the  Infanta,  he 
must  tell  her  that  it  was  a  picture  which  he 
had  had  imbued  with  magical  virtue  by  means 
of  incantations  and  charms,  so  that  whenever 
she  looked  into  it,  she  would  see  a  portrait 
of  the  most  beautiful  princess  in  England, 
France,  or  Spain. 

At  last  the  great  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the 
conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  marriage,  which 
consisted  in  the  delays  and  difficulties  in  getting 
the  Pope's  dispensation,  was  removed.  The 
dispensation  came.  But  then  the  King  of 
Spain  wanted  some  new  guarantees  in  respect 
to  the  privileges  of  Catholics  in  England,  under 
pretense  of  securing  more  perfectly  the  rights 
of  the  Infanta  and  of  her  attendants  when  they 
should  have  arrived  in  that  country.  The 
truth  was,  he  probably  wanted  to  avail  himself 

4— Cbarlen  I. 


42  KING   CHARLES   I. 

of  tlie  occasion  to  gain  some  foothold  for  the 
Catliolic  faith  in  England,  which  country  had 
become  almost  entirely  Protestant.  At  length, 
however,  all  obstacles  seemgd  to  be  removed, 
and  the  treaty  was  signed.  The  news  of  it 
was  received  with  great  joy  in  England,  as  it 
seemed  to  secure  a  permanent  alliance  between 
the  two  powerful  countries  of  England  and 
Spain.  Great  celebrations  took  place  in  Lon- 
don, to  do  honor  to  the  occasion.  A  chapel 
was  built  for  the  Infanta,  to  be  ready  for  her 
on  her  arrival ;  and  a  fleet  was  fitted  out  to 
convey  her  and  her  attendants  to  her  new 
home. 

In  the  riean  time^  however,  although  the 
king  had  signed  the  treaty,  there  was  a  strong 
party  formed  against  the  marriage  in  Spain. 
Buckingham  was  hated  and  despised.  Charles, 
they  saw,  was  almost  entirely  under  his  influ- 
ence. They  said  they  would  rather  see  the 
Infanta  in  her  grave  than  in  the  hands  of  such 
men.  Buckingham  became  irritated  by  the 
hostility  he  had  awakened,  and  he  determined 
to  break  off  the  match  entirely.  He  wrote 
home  to  James  that  he  had  no  idea  that  the 
Spanish  court  had  any  intention  of  carrying 
the  arrangement  really  into  effect  ;  that  they 
were  procrastinating  the  affair  on  every  possi- 
ble pretext,  and  that  he  was  really  afraid  that, 
if  the  prince  wer^  to  attempt  to  lej^ve  the  qovlu- 


THE  EXPEDITION   INTO   SPAIN.  43 

try,  they  would  interpose  and  detain  him  as  a 
prisoner.  King  James  was  very  much  ahirmed. 
lie  wrote  in  the  greatest  trepidation,  urging 
*^  the  hids  "  to  come  away  immediately,  leaving 
a  proxy  behind  them,  if  necessary,  for  the 
solemnization  of  the  marriage.  Tliis  was  what 
Buckingham  wanted,  and  lie  and  the  prince 
began  to  make  preparations  for  their  de- 
parture. 

The  King  of  Spain,  far  from  interposing  any 
obstacles  in  the  way,  only  treated  them  with 
greater  and  higher  marks  of  respect  as  the 
time  of  their  separation  from  his  court  drew 
nigh.  lie  arranged  great  and  pompous  cere- 
monies to  honor  their  departure,  lie  accom- 
panied them,  with  all  the  grandees  of  the  court, 
HA  far  as  to  the  Escurial,  wliicli  is  a  famous 
royal  palace  not  far  from  Madrid,  built  and 
furnished  in  the  most  sumptuous  style  of  mag- 
nificence and  sjilendor.  Here  they  had  part- 
ing feasts  and  celebrations.  Here  the  prince 
took  Ids  leave  of  the  Infanta,  Bristol  serving 
as  interpreter,  to  translate  his  parting  speeches 
into  Spanish,  so  that  she  could  understand 
thom.  From  the  Escurial  the  prince  and  Buck- 
ingham, witli  a  great  many  English  noblemen 
who  had  followed  them  to  Madrid,  and  a  groat 
train  of  attendants,  traveled  toward  the  sea- 
coast,  where  a  fleet  of  vessels  were  ready  to 
receive  them. 


44  KING   CHARLES   I. 

They  embarked  at  a  port  called  St.  Andrew. 
They  came  very  near  being  lost  in  a  storm  of 
mist  and  rain  which  came  upon  them  while 
going  out  to  the  ships,  which  were  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  shore,  in  small  boats  provided 
to  convey  them.  Having  escaped  this  danger 
they  arrived  safely  at  Portsmouth,  the  gre^:? 
landing  point  of  the  British  navy  on  the  south- 
ern shores  of  England,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  London.  They  sent  back  orders  that  6he 
proxy  should  not  be  used,  and  the  match  wa' 
finally  abandoned,  each  party  accusing  thtr 
other  of  duplicity  and  bad  faith.  King  James 
was,  however,  very  glad  to  get  his  son  safe 
back  again,  and  the  people  made  as  mary 
bonfires  and  illuminations  to  celebrate  the 
breaking  up  of  this  Catholic  match,  as  they 
had  done  before  to  do  honor  to  its  supposed 
completion.  As  all  hope  of  recovering  the 
Palatinate  by  negotiation  was  now  past,  the 
king  began  to  prepare  for  the  attempt  to  re- 
conquer it  by  force  of  arms. 


^•|;t;|i;|f;:i.;<«rep^ 


CHAPTER  III. 


ACCESSION^  TO    THE  THRONE. 


King  James  made  slow  progress  in  his  mill 
tary  preparations.  He  could  not  raise  the 
funds  without  the  action  of  Parliament,  and 
the  houses  were  not  in  very  good  humor.  The 
expenses  of  the  prince's  visit  to  Spain  had 
been  enormous,  and  other  charges,  arising  out 
of  the  pomp  and  splendor  with  which  the  ar- 
rangements of  the  court  were  maintained,  gave 
tliem  a  little  feeling  of  discontent.  They  had 
other  grievances  of  which  they  were  disposed 
to  complain,  and  they  began  to  look  upon  this 
war,  notwithstanding  its  Protestant  character, 
as  one  in  which  the  king  was  only  striving  to 
recover  his  son-in-law's  dominions,  and,  con- 
sequently, as  one  which  pertained  more  to  his 
personal  interests  tlian  to  the  public  welfare  of 
the  realm. 

While  things  were  in  this  state  the  king  fell 
sick.  The  mother  of  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham  undertook  to  prescribe  for  him.     It  was 

understood    that   Buckingham    himself,  who 

45 


46  KING   CHARLES   1. 

had,  ill  the  course  of  the  Spanish  enterprise, 
and  since  his  return,  acquired  an  entire  ascend- 
ency over  Charles,  was  not  unwilling  that  his 
old  master  should  leave  the  stage,  and  the 
younger  one  reign  in  his  stead ;  and  that  his 
mother  shared  in  this  feeling.  At  any  rate, 
her  prescriptions  made  the  king  much  worse. 
He  had  the  sacrament  administered  to  him  in 
his  sick  chamber,  and  said  that  lie  derived 
great  comfort  from  it.  One  morning,  very 
early,  he  sent  for  the  prince  to  come  and  see 
him.  Charles  rose,  dressed  himself,  and  came. 
His  father  had  something  to  say  to  him,  and 
tried  to  speak.  He  could  not.  His  strength 
was  too  far  gone.  He  fell  back  upon  his  pil- 
low, and  died. 

Cliarles  was,  of  course,  now  king.  The 
theory  in  the  English  monarchy  is,  that  the 
king  never  dies.  So  soon  as  the  person  in 
whom  the  royal  sovereignty  resides  ceases  to 
breathe,  the  principle  of  supremacy  vests  im- 
mediately in  his  successor,  by  a  law  of  trans- 
mission entirely  independent  of  the  will  of 
man.  The  son  becomes  king  by  a  divine  right. 
His  being  proclaimed  and  crowned,  as  he  usu- 
ally is,  at  some  convenient  time  early  in  his 
reign,  are  not  ceremonies  wliich  make  him 
king.  They  only  acknowledge  him  to  be  so. 
He  does  not,  in  any  sense,  derive  his  powers 
and  prerogatives  from  tliese  acts.     He  only  re- 


ACCESSION   TO   TJIE  THltONE.  47 

ceives  from  liis  people,  by  meuns  of  them,  a 
recognition  of  his  right  to  the  high  office  to 
which  he  has  already  been  inducted  by  the  fiat 
of  Heaven. 

It  will  be  observed,  thus,  that  the  ideas 
which  prevailed  in  respect  to  the  nature  and 
province  of  government,  were  very  different 
in  England  at  that  time  from  those  which  are 
entertained  in  America  at  the  present  day. 
With  us,  the  administration  of  government  is 
merely  a  business,  transacted  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people  by  their  agents — men  who  are 
put  in  power  for  this  purpose,  and  who,  like 
otiier  agents,  are  responsible  to  their  principals 
for  the  manner  in  which  they  fulfil  their  trusts. 
But  government  in  England  was,  in  the  days 
of  the  Stuarts — and  it  is  so  to  a  great  extent  at 
the  present  day — a  right  which  one  family 
possessed,  and  which  entitled  that  family  to 
certain  immunities,  powers,  and  prerogatives, 
which  they  held  entirely  independent  of  any 
desire,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  that  they 
should  exercise  them,  or  even  their  consent  i\\ixi 
they  should  do  so.  The  right  to  govern  the 
realm  of  Great  Britain  was  a  sort  of  estate 
which  descended  to  Charles  from  his  ancestors, 
and  with  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
which  the  community  Iiad  no  right  to  inter- 
fere. 

This  seems,  at  first  view,  very  absurd  to  us, 


48  KING  CHARLES  I. 

but  it  is  not  particularly  absurd,  Charles's 
lawyers  would  say  to  any  plain  proprietor  of  a 
piece  of  land,  who  might  call  in  question  his 
right  to  govern  the  country,  the  king  holds  his 
crown  by  precisely  the  same  tenure  tliat  ycu 
hold  your  farm.  Why  should  you  be  the  ex- 
clusive possessor  of  that  land,  while  so  many 
poor  beggars  are  starving  ?  Because  it  has  de- 
scended to  you  from  your  ancestors,  and  noth- 
ing has  descended  to  them.  And  it  is  precisely 
so  that  the  right  to  manage  the  fleets  and 
armies,  and  to  administer  the  laws  of  the  realm, 
has  descended,  under  tlie  name  of  sovereignty, 
to  him,  and  no  such  political  power  has  de- 
scended to  you. 

True,  the  farmer  would  reply  ;  but  in  mat- 
ters of  government  we  are  to  consider  what 
will  promote  the  general  good.  The  great  ob- 
ject to  be  attained  is  the  welfare  and  happiness 
of  the  community.  Now,  if  this  general  wel- 
fare comes  into  competition  with  tlie  supposed 
rights  of  individuals,  arising  from  such  a  prin- 
ciple as  hereditary  succession,  the  latter  ought 
certainly  to  yield. 

But  why,  might  the  lawyer  reply,  should 
rights  founded  on  hereditary  succession  yield 
any  more  readily  in  the  case  of  governmeiti 
than  in  the  case  of  property  f  The  distribution 
of  property  influences  the  general  welfare  q  n  i  te 
as  much  as  the  management  of  power.     Sup- 


ACCESSION   TO  THE  THRONE.  49 

pose  it  were  proved  that  the  general  welfare  of 
your  parish  would  be  promoted  by  the  divisiou 
of  your  land  among  the  destitute  there.  You 
have  nothing  to  oppose  to  such  a  proposition 
but  vour  hereditary  right.  And  the  king  has 
that  to  oppose  to  any  plan  of  a  division  of  his 
prerogatives  and  powers  among  the  people  who 
would  like  to  share  them. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  this  reasoning 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  at  the  present 
day,  it  was  considered  very  satisfactory  in 
England  two  or  three  centuries  ago.  The  true 
and  proper  jurisdiction  of  an  English  monarch, 
as  it  had  existed  from  ancient  times,  was  con- 
sidered as  an  absolute  right,  vesting  in  each 
successive  inheritor  of  the  crown,  and  which 
the  community  could  not  justly  interfere  with 
or  disturb  for  any  reasons  less  imperious  than 
such  as  would  authorize  an  interference  with 
the  right  of  succession  to  private  property. 
Indeed,  it  is  probable  that,  with  most  men  at 
that  time,  an  inherited  right  to  govern  was  re- 
garded as  the  most  sacred  of  the  two. 

The  fact  seems  to  be,  that  the  right  of  a  son 
to  come  into  the  place  of  his  father,  whether  in 
respect  to  property,  power,  or  social  rank,  is 
not  a  natural,  inherent,  and  indefeasible  right, 
but  a  privilege  which  society  accords,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  convenience  and  expediency.  In  Eng- 
land, expediency  is,  on  the  whole,  considered 


50  KING    CHARLES   I. 

to  require  that  all  three  of  these  things,  viz., 
pro^Derty,  rank,  and  power,  in  certain  cases, 
should  descend  from  father  to  son.  In  this 
country,  on  the  other  hand,  we  confine  the  he- 
reditament to  property,  abrogating  it  in  the 
case  of  rank  and  power.  In  neither  case  is 
there  probably  any  absolute  natural  right,  but 
a  conventional  right  is  allowed  to  take  its  place 
in  one,  or  another,  or  all  of  these  particulars, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  the  community  in 
respect  to  what  its  true  interests  and  the  gen- 
eral welfare,  on  the  whole,  require. 

The  kings  themselves  of  this  Stuart  race — 
which  race  includes  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  the 
mother  of  the  line,  and  James  I.,  Charles  I., 
Charles  II.,  and  James  II. — entertained  very 
high  ideas  of  these  hereditary  rights  of  theirs 
to  govern  the  realm  of  England.  They  felt  a 
determination  to  maintain  these  rights  and 
powers  at  all  hazards.  Charles  ascended  the 
throne  with  these  feelings,  and  the  chief  point 
of  interest  in  the  history  of  his  reign  is  the 
contest  in  which  he  engaged  with  the  English 
people  in  his  attempts  to  maintain  them. 

The  body  with  which  the  king  came  most 
immediately  into  conflict  in  this  long  struggle 
were  the  two  houses  of  Parliament.  And  here 
American  readers  are  very  liable  to  fall  into  a 
mistake  by  considering  the  houses  of  Parlia- 
ineiit  as  analogous  to  the  houses  of  legislatioii 


ACCESSION   TO   THE  THRONE.  51 

in  the  various  governments  of  this  country. 
In  our  governments  the  chief  magistrate  has 
only  to  execute  definite  and  written  laws  and 
ordinances,  passed  by  the  Legislature,  and 
which  the  Legislature  may  pass  with  or  with- 
out his  consent ;  and  when  enacted,  he  must 
be  governed  by  them.  Thus  the  president  or 
the  governor  is,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  agent 
and  officer  of  the  legislative  power  of  the  state, 
to  carry  into  effect  its  decisions,  and  this 
legislative  power  has  really  the  control. 

By  the  ancient  Constitution  of  England, 
however,  the  Parliament  was  merely  a  body 
of  counselors,  as  it  were,  summoned  by  the 
king  to  give  him  their  advice,  to  frame  for  him 
such  laws  as  he  wanted  to  have  framed,  and 
to  aid  him  in  raising  funds  by  taxing  the  peo- 
ple. The  king  might  call  this  council  or  not, 
as  he  pleased.  There  was  no  necessity  for  call- 
ing it  unless  he  needed  more  funds  than  he 
could  raise  by  his  own  resources.  When  called, 
they  felt  that  they  had  come,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, to  aid  the  king  in  doing  his  will.  AVhen 
they  framed  a  law,  they  sent  it  to  him,  and  if 
he  was  satisfied  with  it,  he  made  it  law.  It  was 
the  king  who  really  enacted  it.  If  he  did  not 
approve  the  law,  he  wrote  upon  the  parchment 
which  contained  it,  '*  The  king  will  think  of 
it,"  and  that  was  the  end.  The  king  would 
call  upon  them  to  assess  a  tax  and  collect  the 


52  KING   CHARLES   I. 

money,  and  would  talk  to  them  about  his  plans, 
and  his  government,  and  the  aid  which  he 
wanted  from  them  to  enable  him  to  accomplish 
what  he  had  himself  undertaken.  In  fact, 
the  king  was  the  government,  and  the  houses 
of  Parliament  his  instruments  to  aid  him  in 
giving  effect  to  his  decrees. 

The  nobles,  that  is,  the  heads  of  the  great 
families,  and  also  the  bishops,  who  were  the 
heads  of  the  various  dioceses  of  the  Church, 
formed  one  branch  of  this  great  council.  This 
was  called  the  House  of  Lords.  Certain  repre- 
sentatives of  the  counties  and  of  thf  towns 
formed  another  branch,  called  the  House  of 
Commons.  These  delegates  came  to  the  coun- 
cil, not  from  any  right  which  the  counties  and 
towns  were  supposed  to  possess  to  a  share  in 
the  government,  but  simply  because  they  were 
summoned  by  the  king  to  come  and  give  him 
their  aid.  They  were  to  serve  without  pay,  as 
a  matter  of  duty  which  they  owed  to  the  sov- 
ereign. Those  that  came  from  counties  were 
called  knights,  and  those  from  the  towns  bur- 
gesses. These  last  were  held  in  very  little  es- 
timation. The  towns,  in  those  days,  were 
considered  as  mere  collections  of  shopkeepers 
and  tradesmen,  who  were  looked  down  upon 
with  much  disdain  by  the  haughty  nobles. 
\Yhen  the  king  called  his  Parliament  together, 
and  went  in  to  address  them^  he  entered  the 


ACCESSION   TO   THE   THRONE.  53 

chamber  of  the  House  of  Peers,  and  tlie  com- 
mons were  called  in,  to  stand  where  they  could, 
witli  their  heads  uncovered,  to  hear  what  he 
had  to  say.  They  were,  in  a  thousand  other 
ways,  treated  as  an  inferior  class ;  but  still 
their  counsels  might,  in  some  cases,  be  of  serv- 
ice, and  so  they  were  summoned  to  attend, 
though  they  were  to  meet  always,  and  deliber- 
ate, in  a  separate  chamber. 

As  the  king  could  call  the  Parliament  to- 
gether at  any  time  and  place  he  pleased,  so  he 
could  suspend  or  terminatD  their  sittings  at  any 
time.  He  could  intermit  the  action  of  a  Par- 
liament for  a  time,  sending  the  members  to 
their  homes  until  he  should  summon  tht^m 
again.  This  was  called  npi'orogafion.  Or  he 
could  dissolve  the  body  entirely  at  any  time, 
and  then  require  new  elections  for  a  new  Par- 
liament whenever  he  wanted  to  avail  himself 
of  the  wisdom  or  aid  of  such  a  body  again. 

Thus  everything  went  on  the  supposition 
that  the  real  responsibility  for  the  government 
was  with  the  king.  lie  was  the  monarch,  and 
the  real  sovereignty  vested  in  him.  lie  called 
his  nobles,  and  a  delegation  from  the  mass  of 
the  people,  together,  whenever  he  wanted  their 
help,  and  not  otherwise.  Tie  was  responsible, 
not  to  them  nor  to  the  peoi)le  at  large,  but  to 
God  only,  for  the  r.cts  of  his  administration. 
The  duty  cf  rarlianient  was  limited  to  that  of 


54  KING   CHARLES    I. 

aiding  him  in  carrying  out'  his  plans  of  gov- 
ernment,  and  the  people  had  nothing  to  do  but 
to  be  obedient,  submissive,  and  loyal.  These 
were,  at  any  rate,  the  ideas  of  the  kings,  and 
all  the  forms  of  the  English  Constitution,  and 
the  ancient  phraseology  in  which  the  transac- 
tions are  expressed,  correspond  with  them. 

AVe  cannot  give  a  better  proof  and  illustra- 
tion of  what  has  been  said  than  by  transcrib- 
ing the  substance  of  one  of  King  James's  mes- 
sages to  his  Parliament,  delivered  about  the 
close  of  his  life,  and,  of  course,  at  the  period 
of  which  we  are  writing.     It  was  as  follows  : 

**  My  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  you  the 
Commons  :  In  my  last  Parliament  I  made  long  dis- 
courses, especially  to  them  of  the  Lower  House.  I 
did  open  the  true  thought  of  my  heart.  But  I  may 
say  with  our  Saviour,  '  I  have  piped  to  you  and  ye 
have  not  danced ;  I  have  mourned  to  you  and  you 
have  not  lamented  ; '  so  all  my  sayings  turned  to  me 
again  without  any  success.  And  now,  to  tell  the 
reasons  of  your  calling  and  of  this  meeting,  apply  it 
to  yourselves,  and  spend  not  the  time  in  long 
speeches.  Consider  that  the  Parliament  is  a  thing 
composed  of  a  head  and  a  body  ;  the  monarch  and 
the  two  estates.  It  was,  first,  a  monarchy  ;  then 
after,  a  Parliament.  There  are  no  Parliaments  but 
in  monarchical  governments ;  for  in  Venice,  the 
Netherlands,  and  other  free  governments  there  are 
none.  The  head  is  to  call  the  body  together  ;  and 
for  the  clergy  the  bishops  are  chief,  for  shires  their 
knights,   for  towns  and  cities  their  burgesses  and 


ACCESSION   TO   THE  THIIONE.  bb 

citizens.  These  are  to  treat  of  difficult  matters,  and 
counsel  their  king  with  their  best  advice  to  make 
laws*  for  the  commonweal;  and  tl)e  Lower  House 
is  also  to  petition  the  king  and  acquaint  him  with 
their  grievances,  and  not  to  meddle  with  the  king's 
prerogative.  They  are  to  offer  supply  for  his  neces- 
sity, and  he  to  distribute,  in  recompense  thereof, 
justice  and  mercy.  As  in  all  Parliaments  it  is  the 
king's  office  to  make  good  laws,  whose  fundamenta-1 
cause  is  tlie  people's  ill  manners,  so  at  this  time. 

"  For  a  supply  to  my  necessities,  I  have  reigned- 
eighteen  years,  in  which  I  liave  had  peace,  and  I 
liave  received  far  less  supply  than  hath  been  given 
to  any  king  since  the  Conquest.  The  last  queen 
had,  one  year  with  another,  above  a  hundred 
thousand  pounds  })er  annum  in  subsidies;  and  in  all 
my  time  1  have  had  but  four  subsidies!  and  six  fif- 
teens, f  It  is  ten  years  since  I  had  a  subsidy,  in  all 
which  time  I  have  been  sparing  to  trouble  you.  I 
have  turned  myself  as  nearly  to  save  expenses  as  I 
may.  1  have  abated  much  in  my  household  ex- 
})enses,  in  my  navies,  and  the  charge  of  my  mu- 
nition.'' 

Aftor  speaking  about  tlie  affairs  of  the  Pa- 
latinate, and  calling  upon  tlie  Parliament  to 
furnish  him  with  money  to  recover  it  for  his 
son-in-law,  he  adds  : 

•*  Consider  the  trade  for  the  making  thereof  better, 


*  Meaning  advice  to  him  how  he  shall  make  laws 
i  is  evident  from  what  is  said  below, 
f  Species  of  taxes  granted  by  Parliament. 


66  KING  CHAKLES  I. 

and  show  me  the  reason  why  my  mint,  these  eight 
or  nine  years,  hath  not  gone.  I  confess  I  have  been 
liberal  in  my  grants ;  but  if  I  be  informed,  I  will 
amend  all  hurtful  grievances.  But  whoever  shall 
hasten  after  grievances,  and  desire  to  make  himself 
popular,  he  hath  the  spirit  of  Satan.  I  was,  in  my  first 
Parliament,  a  novice  ;  and  in  my  last,  there  was  a 
kind  of  beasts,  called  vndertakers,  a  dozen  of  whom 
undertook  to  govern  the  last  Parliament,  and  they 
led  me.  I  shall  thank  you  for  your  good  office,  and 
desire  that  the  wcvld  may  say  well  of  our  agree- 
ment." 

This  kind  of  harangue  from  the  king  to  his 
Parliament  seems  not  to  have  been  considered, 
at  tlie  time,  at  all  extraordinary ;  though,  if 
such  a  message  were  to  be  sent  at  the  present 
day,  by  a  President  of  the  United  States  to 
the  houses  of  Congress,  we  think  it  would 
make  a  sensation. 

Still,  notwithstanding  what  we  have  said,, 
the  Parliament  did  contrive  gradually  to  at- 
tain to  the  possession  of  some  privileges  and 
powers  of  its  own.  The  English  people  liave 
a  great  deal  of  independence  and  spirit,  thougli 
Americans  traveling  there,  with  ideas  carried 
from  this  country,  are  generally  surprised  at 
finding  so  little  instead  of  so  much.  Tlie 
knights  and  burgesses  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, though  they  submitted  patiently  to  the 
forms  of  degradation  which  the  lords  and 
kings  imposed  upon  tliem,  gradually  got  pos- 


ACCESSION    TO  THE  THRONE.  57 

session  of  certain  powers  wliich  they  claimed 
as  their  own,  and  wliich  they  showed  a  strong 
disposition  to  defend.  They  claimed  the  ex- 
elusive  right  to  lay  taxes  of  every  kind.  This 
had  been  the  usage  so  long,  that  they  luid  tlie 
same  right  to  it  that  the  king  had  to  his 
crown,  They  had  a  riglit,  too,  to  petition  tlie 
king  for  a  redress  of  any  grievances  wliicl: 
they  supposed  -tho  people  were  suffering  under 
his  reign.  These,  and  certain  other  powers 
and  immunities  wliich  they  had  possessed,  were 
called  their  2^rivileffes.  Tlie  king's  rights  were, 
on  the  other  hand,  called  his  j)rero(/atioes. 
The  Parliament  were  always  endeavoring  to 
extend,  define,  and  establish  their  privileges. 
The  king  was  equally  bent  on  maintaining  his 
ancient  prerogatives.  King  Charles's  reign 
derives  its  chief  interest  from  the  long  and 
insane  contest  which  he  waged  with  his  Par- 
liament on  this  question.  The  contest  com- 
menced at  the  king's  accession  to  the  throne, 
and  lasted  a  quarter  of  a  century  :  it  ended 
with  his  losing  all  his  prerogatives  and  his 
head. 

This  circumstance,  that  the  main  interest 
in  King  Charles's  reign  is  derived  from  his 
contest  with  his  Parliament,  has  made  it 
necessary  to  explain  somewhat  fully,  as  we 
have  done,  the  nature  of  that  body.  We  have 
described  it  as  it  was  in    the    days    of  the 


58  KING    CHARLES   I. 

Stuarts  ;  but,  in  order  not  to  leave  any  wrong 
impression  on  the  mind  of  the  reader  in  re- 
gard to  its  present  condition,  we  must  add, 
that  though  all  its  external  forms  remain  the 
same,  the  powers  and  functions  of  the  body 
have  greatly  changed.  The  despised  and  con- 
temned knights  and  burgesses,  that  were  not 
worthy  to  have  seats  provided  for  them  when 
the  king  was  delivering  them  his  speech,  now 
rule  the  world  ;  or,  at  least,  come  nearer  to  the 
possession  of  that  dominion  than  any  other 
power  has  ever  done,  in  ancient  or  modern 
times.  They  decide  Avho  shall  administer  the 
government,  and  in  what  way.  They  make 
the  laws,  settle  questions  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, decide  really  on  peace  and  war,  and, 
in  a  word,  hold  the  whole  control,  while  the 
nominal  sovereign  takes  rides  in  the  royal 
parks,  or  holds  drawing-rooms  in  the  palaces, 
in  empty  and  powerless  parade.  There  is  no 
question  that  the  British  House  of  Commons 
has  exerted  a  far  wider  influence  on  the  desti- 
nies of  the  human  race  than  any  other  govern- 
mental power  that  has  ever  exisited.  It  has 
gone  steadily  on  for  five,  and  perhaps  for  ten 
centuries,  in  the  same  direction  and  toward 
the  same  ends  ;  and  whatever  revolutions  may 
threaten  other  elements  of  European  power,  the 
British  House  of  Commons,  in  some  form  or 
other,  is  as  sure  as  anything  human  can  be  of 


ACCESSION  TO   THE   THRONE.  59 

existence  and  power  for  five  or  ten  centuries 
to  come.  ' 

And  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of 
the  strange  plienomena  of  social  life,  that  this 
body,  standing  at  the  head,  as  it  really  does, 
of  all  human  power,  submits  patiently  still  to 
all  the  marks  and  tokens  of  inferiority  and 
degradation  wliich  accompanied  its  origin.  It 
comestogetlier  when  the  sovereign  sends  writs, 
ordering  the  several  constituencies  to  choose 
their  representatives,  and  the  representatives 
to  assemble.  It  comes  humbly  into  the  House 
of  Peers  to  listen  to  the  instructions  of  the 
sovereign  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  the 
members  in  a  standing  position,  and  with  heads 
uncovered.*  It  debates  these  suggestions 
with  forms  and  in  a  phraseology  which  im- 
ply that  it  is  only  considering  what  cotinsel  to 
give  the  king.  It  enacts  nothing — it  only 
recommends  ;  and  it  holds  its  existence  solely 
at  the  discretion  of  the  great  imaginary  power 
which  called  it  into  being.  These  forms  may, 
very  probably,  soon  be  changed  for  others 
more  true  to  the  facts  ;  and  the  principle  of 
election  may  be  changed,  so  as  to  make  the 

*Even  in  the  case  of  a  committee  of  conference 
between  tlie  two  houses,  the  lords  have  seats  in  the 
committee-room,  and  wear  their  hats.  The  mem- 
bers from  the  commons  must  stand,  and  be  uncov- 
ered during  the  deliberations. 


60  KING   CHARLES    t. 

body  represent  more  fully  the  general  popula- 
tion of  the  empire  ;  but  the  body  itself  will 
doubtless  continue  its  action  for  a  very  long 
period  to  come. 

According  to  the  view  of  the  subject  which 
we  have  presented,  it  would  of  course  follow, 
as  the  real  sovereignty  was  mainly  in  the 
king's  hands,  that  at  the  death  of  one 
monarch  and  the  accession  of  another,  the 
functions  of  all  officers  holding  their  places 
under  the  authority  of  the  former  would  ex- 
pire. This  was  actually  the  case.  And  it 
shows  how  entirely  the  Parliament  was 
considered  as  the  instrument  and  creation  of 
the  king,  that  on  the  death  of  a  king,  the 
Parliament  immediately  expired.  The  new 
monarch  must  make  a  new  Parliament  if 
he  wished  one  to  help  him  carry  out  his 
own  plans.  In  the  same  manner  almost  all 
other  offices  expired.  As  it  would  be  ex- 
tremly  inconvenient  or  impossible  to  appoint 
anew  all  the  officers  of  such  a  realm  on  a  sud- 
den emergency,  it  is  usual  for  the  king  to  issue 
a  decree  renewing  the  appointments  of  the  ex- 
isting incumbents  of  these  offices.  Thus  King 
Charles,  two  days  after  his  father's  death, 
made  it  his  first  act  to  renew  the  appointments 
of  the  members  of  his  father's  privy  council,  of 
the  foreign  ambassadors,  and  of  the  judges  of 
the  courts,  in  order  that  the  affairs  of  the  em- 


ACCESSION   TO  THE  THRONE.  61 

pire  might  go  on  witliout  interruption.  He 
also  issued  summonses  for  calling  a  Parlia- 
ment, and  then  made  arrangements  for  the 
solemnization  of  his  father's  funeral. 

The  scene  of  these  transactions  was  what 
was,  in  those  days,  called  Westminster.  Min- 
ster means  cathedral.  A  cathedral  church  had 
been  built,  and  an  abbey  founded,  at  a  short 
distance  west  from  London,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Thames.  The  church  was  called  the  West 
minster,  and  the  abbey,  Westminster  Abbey. 
The  town  afterward  took  the  same  name.  The 
street  leading  to  the  city  of  London  from  West- 
minster was  called  the  Strand  ;  it  lay  along  the 
shore  of  the  river.  The  gate  by  which  the  city 
of  London  was  entered  on  this  side  was  called 
Temple  Bar,  on  account  of  a  building  just 
within  the  walls,  at  that  point,  which  was  called 
the  Temple.  In  process  of  time,  London  ex- 
panded beyond  its  bounds  and  spread  westward. 
The  Strand  became  a  magnificent  street  of 
shops  and  stores,  AVestminster  was  filled  with 
palaces  and  houses  of  tlie  nobility,  the  whole 
region  being  entirely  covered  with  streets  and 
edifices  of  the  greatest  magnificence  and  splen- 
dor. Westminster  is  now  called  the  West  End 
of  London,  though  the  jurisdiction  of  the  city 
still  ends  at  Temple  Bar. 

Parliament  held  its  sessions  in  a  building 
near  the  shore,  called  St.  Stephen's,  The  king's 


62  KING   CHARLES  I. 

palace,  called  St.  James's  Palace,  was  near. 
The  old  church  became  a  place  of  sepulture  foi 
the  English  kings,  where  a  long  line  of  them 
now  repose.  The  palace  of  King  James's  wife, 
Anne  of  Denmark,  was  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
some  distance  down  the  Strand.  She  called  it, 
during  her  life,  Denmark  House,  in  honor  of  her 
native  land.     Its  name  is  now  Somerset  House. 

King  James's  funeral  was  attended  with 
great  pomp.  The  body  was  conveyed  from 
Somerset  House  to  its  place  of  repose  in  the 
Abbey,  and  attended  by  a  great  procession. 
King  Charles  walked  as  chief  mourner.  Two 
earls  attended  him,  one  on  each  side,  and  the 
train  of  his  robes  was  borne  by  twelve  peers 
of  the  realm.  The  expenses  of  this  funeral 
amounted  to  a  sum  equal  to  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars. 

One  thing  more  is  to  be  stated  before  we 
can  consider  Charles  as  fairly  entered  upon  his 
career,  and  that  is  the  circumstance  of  his  mar- 
riage. His  father,  James,  so  soon  as  he  found 
the  negotiations  with  Spain  must  be  finally 
abandoned,  opened  a  new  negotiation  with  the 
King  of  France  for  his  daughter  Henrietta 
Maria.  After  some  delay,  this  arrangement 
was  concluded  upon.  The  treaty  of  marriage 
was  made,  and  soon  after  the  old  king's  death, 
Charles  began  to  think  of  bringing  home  hi? 
bride. 


LiiuUing  (ji   llenric'tta  Maria  at  Dover. 


ACCESSION   TO  THE  THRONE.  63 

He  accordingly  made  out  a  commission  for  a 
nobleman,  appointed  for  the  purpose,  to  act  in 
his  name,  in  the  performance  of  the  ceremony  at 
Paris.  The  Pope's  dispensation  was  obtained, 
Henrietta  Maria,  as  well  as  the  Infanta,  being  a . 
Catholic.  The  ceremony  was  performed,  as 
such  ceremonies  usually  were  in  Paris,  in  the 
famous  church  of  Xotre  Dame,  where  Charles's 
grandmother,  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  had  been 
married  to  a  prince  of  France  about  seventy 
years  before. 

There  was  a  great  theater,  or  platform, 
erected  in  front  of  the  altar  in  the  church, 
which  was  thronged  by  the  concourse  of  spec- 
tators Avho  rushed  to  witness  the  ceremony. 
The  beautiful  princess  was  married  by  proxy  to 
a  man  in  another  kingdom,  whom  she  had  never 
seen,  or,  at  least,  never  known.  It  is  not 
probable  that  she  observed  him  at  the  time 
when  he  was,  for  one  evening,  in  hsr  presence, 
on  his  journey  through  Paris.  The  Duke  of 
Buckingham  had  been  sent  over  by  Charles  to 
conduct  home  his  bride.  Ships  were  waiting 
at  Boulogne,  a  port  nearly  opposite  to  Dover, 
to  take  her  and  her  attendants  on  board.  She 
bade  farewell  to  the  palaces  of  Paris,  and  set 
out  on  her  journey. 

The  king,  in  the  mean  time,  had  gone  to 
Dover,  where  he  awaited  her  arrival.  She 
.landed  at  Dover  on  the  day  3fter  sailing  from 


64  HING  CHARLES  I. 

Boulogne,  sea-sick  and  sad.  The  king  received 
his  bride,  and  with  their  attendants  they  went 
by  carriages  to  Canterbury,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day  they  entered  London.  Great  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  for  receiving  the  king  and 
his  consort  in  a  suitable  manner  ;  but  London 
was,  at  this  time,  in  a  state  of  great  distress 
and  fear  on  account  of  the  plague  which  had 
broken  out  there.  The  disease  had  increased 
during  the  king's  absence,  and  the  alarm  and 
anxiety  were  so  great,  that  the  rejoicings  on 
account  of  the  arrival  of  the  queen  were  omit- 
ted. She  journeyed  quietly,  therefore,  to 
Westminster,  and  took  up  her  abode  at  Somer- 
set House,  which  had  been  the  residence  of 
her  predecessor.  They  had  fitted  it  up  for  hor 
reception,  providing  for  it,  among  other  con- 
veniences, a  Eoman  Catholic  chapel,  where  she 
could  enjoy  the  services  of  religion  ir.  thelirms 
to  which  she  had  been  accustomed. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BUCKINGHAM. 

Charles  commenced  his  reign  in  1625. 
Tie  continued  to  reign  about  twenty-four  years, 
Jt  will  assist  the  reader  to  receive  and  retain 
in  mind  a  clear  idea  of  the  course  of  events 
during  his  reign,  if  we  regard  it  as  divided  into 
tliree  periods.  During  the  first,  which  con- 
tinued about  four  years,  Charles  and  the  Par- 
liament were  both  upon  the  stage,  contending 
with  each  other,  but  not  at  open  war.  Each 
party  managed,  and  maneuvered,  and  struggled 
to  gain  its  own  ends,  the  disagreement  widen- 
ing and  deepening  continually,  till  it  ended  in 
an  open  rupture,  when  Charles  abandoned  the 
plan  of  having  Parliaments  at  all,  and  at- 
tempted to  govern  alone.  This  attempt  to 
manage  the  empire  without  a  legislature  lasted 
for  ten  years,  and  is  the  second  period.  After 
this  a  parliament  was  called,  and  it  soon  made 
itself  independent  of  the  king,  and  became 
hostile  to  him,  tlie  two  powers  being  at  open 
war,  which  constitutes  tlie  third  period.     Thus 

60 


66  KING  CHARLES  I. 

we  have  four  years  spent  in  getting  into  the 
quarrel  between  the  king  and  Parliament,  ten 
years  in  an  attempt  by  the  king  to  govern 
alono,  and,  finally,  ten  years  of  war,  more  or 
less  open,  the  king  on  one  side,  and  the  Parlia- 
ment on  the  other. 

The  first  four  years — that  is,  the  time  spent 
in  getting  really  into  the  quarrel  with  Parlia- 
ment, was  Buckingham's  work,  for  during  that 
time  Buckingham's  influence  •  with  the  king 
was  paramount  and  supreme  ;  and  whatever 
was  done  that  was  important  or  extraordinary, 
though  done  in  the  king's  name,  really  origi- 
nated in  him.  The  whole  country  knew  this, 
and  were  indignant  that  such  a  man,  so  un- 
principled, so  low  in  character,  so  reckless, 
and  so  completely  under  the  sway  of  his  im- 
pulses and  passions,  should  have  such  an  influ- 
ence over  the  king,  and,  through  him,  such 
power  to  interfere  with  and  endanger  the 
mighty  interests  of  so  vast  a  realm. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  in  conse- 
quence of  what  has  been  said  about  the  extent 
of  the  regal  power  in  England,  that  the  daily 
care  and  responsibility  of  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment, in  its  ordinary  administration,  rested 
directly  upon  the  king.  It  is  not  possible  that 
any  one  mind  can  even  comprehend,  far  less 
direct,  such  an  enormous  complication  of  inter- 
ests and  of  action  as  is  involved  in  the  carrying 


BUCKINGHAM.  67 

ing  on,  from  day  to  day,  the  government  of  an 
empire.  Offices,  authorities,  and  departments 
of  administration  spring  up  gradually,  and  all 
tlie  ordinary  routine  of  the  affairs  of  the  empire 
are  managed  by  them.  Thus  the  navy  was  all 
completely  organized,  with  its  gradations  of 
rank,  its  rules  of  action,  its  records,  its  account 
books,  its  offices  and  arrangements  for  provi- 
sionment  and  supply,  the  whole  forming  a  vast 
system  which  moved  on  of  itself,  whether  tlie 
king  were  present  or  absent,  sick  or  well,  living 
or  dead.  It  was  so  with  the  army ;  it  was  so 
with  the  courts ;  it  was  so  with  the  general 
administration  of  the  government  at  London. 
The  immense  mass  of  business  which  consti- 
tuted the  work  of  government  was  all  system- 
atized and  arranged,  and  it  moved  on  regu- 
larly, in  the  hands  of  more  or  less  prudent  and 
careful  men,  who  governed,  themselves,  by 
ancient  rules  and  usages,  and  in  most  cases 
managed  wisely. 

Everything,  however,  was  done  in  the  king's 
name.  The  ships  were  his  majesty's  ships, 
the  admirals  were  his  majesty's  servants,  the 
war  was  his  majesty's  war,  the  court  was  the 
King's  Bench.  The  idea  was,  that  all  these 
thousands  of  officers,  of  all  ranks  and  grades, 
were  only  an  enormous  multiplication  of  his 
majesty  ;  that  they  might  do  his  will  and  carry 
on  his  administration  as  he  would  himself  carry 


68  KING   CHARLES  I. 

it  on  were  he  personally  capable  of  attending  to 
such  a  vast  detail ;  subject,  of  course,  to  cer- 
tain limits  and  restrictions  which  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  realm,  and  the  promises  and 
contracts  of  his  predecessors  had  imposed.  But 
although  all  this  action  was  theoretically  the 
king's  action,  it  came  to  be,  in  fact,  almost 
wholly  independent  of  him.  It  went  on  of  it- 
self, in  a  regular  and  systematic  way,  pursuing 
its  own  accustomed  course,  except  so  far  as  the 
king  directly  interposed  to  modify  its  action. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  king  would 
certainly  take  the  general  direction  of  affairs 
into  his  own  hands,  and  that  this  charge,  at 
least,  would  necessarily  come  upon  him,  as 
king,  day  by  day.  Some  monarchs  have  at- 
tempted to  do  this,  but  it  is  obvious  that  there 
must  be  some  provision  for  having  this  general 
charge,  as  well  as  all  the  subordinate  functions 
of  government,  attended  to  independently  of 
the  king,  as  his  being  always  in  a  condition  to 
fulfill  this  duty  is  not  to  be  relied  upon. 
Sometimes  the  king  is  young  and  inexperienced ; 
sometimes  he  is  sick  or  absent ;  and  some- 
times he  is  too  feeble  in  mind,  or  too  indolent, 
or  too  devoted  to  his  pleasures  to  exercise  any 
governmental  care.  There  has  gradually 
grown  up,  therefore,  in  all  monarchies,  the 
custom  of  having  a  central  board  of  officers  of 
state,  whom  the  king  appoints,  and  who  takes 


BUCKINGHAM.  69 

the  general  direction  of  affairs  off  his  mind, 
except  so  far  as  he  chooses  to  interfere.  This 
board,  in  England,  is  called  the  Privy  Council. 
The  Privy  Council  in  England  is  a  body  of 
great  importance.  Its  nature  and  its  functions 
are,  of  course,  entirely  different  from  those  of 
the  two  houses  of  Parliament.  They  repre- 
sent, or  are  intended  to  represent,  the  nation. 
The  Parliament  is,  in  theory,  the  nation,  as- 
sembled at  the  king's  command,  to  give  him 
their  advice.  The  Privy  Council,  on  the  other 
hand,  represents  the  king.  It  is  tho  king's 
Privy  Council.  They  act  in  his  name.  They 
follow  his  directions  when  he  ciioopes  to  give 
any.  Whatever  they  decide  npon  and  decree, 
the  king  signs — often,  indeed;  without  any  idea 
of  what  it  is  ;  but  he  3t^ll  "jigns  it,  and  all  such 
decrees  go  forth  t^  the  world  as  the  king's 
orders  in  council.  The  Privy  Council,  of 
course,  would  h«\Te  its  meetings,  its  officers,  its 
records,,  its  Ttiles  of  proceeding,  and  its  various 
nsagcR,  ^nd  these  grew,  in  time,  to  be  laws  and 
t\\r\\i'^  \  but  still  it  was,  in  theory,  only  a  sort 
of  t'xpansion  of  the  king,  as  if  to  make  a  kind 
Tvf  artificial  being,  with  one  soul,  but  many 
heads  and  hands,  because  no  natural  human 
being  could  possibly  have  capacities  and  powers 
extensive  and  multifarious  enough  for  the  exi- 
gencies of  reigning.  Charles  thus  had  a  coun- 
cil who  went  on  with  everything,  except  so  far 

t>— Obarle»  I. 


70  KING   CHARLES   I. 

as  he  chose  to  interpose.  The  members  were 
generally  able  and  experienced  men.  And  yet 
Buckingham  was  among  them.  He  had  been 
made  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England,  which 
gave  him  supreme  command  of  the  navy,  and 
admitted  him  to  the  Privy  Council.  The^e 
were  very  high  honors. 

This  Privy  Council  now  took  the  direction  of 
public  affairs,  attended  to  everything,  provided 
for  all  emergencies,  and  kept  all  the  compli- 
cated machinery  of  government  in  motion, 
without  the  necessity  of  the  king's  having  any 
personal  agency  in  the  matter.  The  king 
might  interpose,  more  or  less,  as  he  was  in- 
clined ;  and,  when  he  did  interpose,  he  some- 
times found  obstacles  in  the  way  of  imme- 
diately accomplishing  his  plans,  in  the  forms 
or  usages  which  had  gradually  grown  into  laws. 

For  instance,  when  the  king  began  his  reign, 
he  was  very  eager  to  have  the  war  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  Palatinate  go  on  at  once  ;  and  he 
was,  besides,  very  much  embarrassed  for  want 
of  money.  He  wished,  therefore,  in  order  to 
save  time,  that  the  old  Parliament  which  King 
James  had  called  should  continue  to  act  under 
his  reign.  But  his  Privy  Council  told  him  that 
that  could  not  be.  That  was  James's  Parlia- 
ment. If  he  wanted  one  for  his  reign,  he  must 
call  upon  the  people  to  elect  a  new  Parliament 
for  him. 


BtJCKINGHAM.    ;  71 

The  new  Parliament  was  called,  and  Charles 
Bent  them  a  very  civil  message,  explaining  the 
emergency  which  had  induced  him  to  call  them, 
and  the  reason  why  he  was  so  much  in  want  of 
money.  His  father  had  loi't  the  government  a 
great  deal  in  debt.  There  had  been  heavy  ex- 
penses connected  with  the  death  of  the  former 
king,  and  with  his  own  accession  and  marriage. 
Then  there  was  the  war.  It  had  been  engaged 
in  by  his  father,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
former  Parliament ;  and  engagements  had  been 
made  with  allies,  which  now  they  could  not 
honorably  retract.  He  urged  them,  therefore, 
to  grant,  without  delay,  the  necessary  sup- 
plies. 

The  Parliament  met  in  July,  but  the  plague 
was  increasing  in  London,  and  they  had  to  ad- 
journ, early  in  August,  to  Oxford.  This  city 
is  situated  upon  the  Thames,  and  was  then,  as 
it  is  now,  the  seat  of  a  great  many  colleges. 
These  colleges  were  independent  of  each  other 
in  their  internal  management,  though  united 
together  in  one  general  system.  The  name  of 
one  of  them,  which  is  still  very  distinguished, 
was  Christ  Church  College.  They  had,  among 
the  buildings  of  that  college,  a  magnificent 
hall,  more  than  one  hundred  feet  long,  and 
very  lofty,  built  in  a  very  imposing  style.  It  is 
fitill  a  great  object  of  interest  to  all  who  visit 
Oxford,     This  hall  was  fitted  up  for  the  use  of 


72  KING   CHARLES   I. 

Parliament,  and  the  king  met  the  two  houses 
tliere,  and  made  a  new  speech  himself,  and  had 
others  made  by  liis  ministers,  explaining  tlio 
state  of  public  affairs,  and  gently  urging  the 
houses  to  act  with  pi'omptness  and  decision. 

The  houses  then  separated,  and  each  com- 
menced its  own  deliberations.  But,  instead  of 
promptly  complying  with  the  king's  proposals, 
they  sent  him  a  petition  for  redress  of  a  long 
list  of  what  they  called  grievances.  These 
grievances  were,  almost  all  of  them,  complaints 
of  the  toleration  and  encouragement  of  the 
Catholics,  through  the  influence  of  the  king's 
Catholic  bride.  She  had  stipulated  to  have  3^ 
Catholic  chapel,  and  Catholic  attendants,  and, 
after  her  arrival  in  England,  she  and  Bucking- 
ham had  so  much  influence  over  the  king  that, 
they  were  producing  quite  a  change  at  court, 
and  gradually  through  all  ranks  of  society,  in 
favor  of  the  Catholics.  The  Commons  com> 
plained  of  a  great  many  things,  nearly  all,  how- 
ever, originating  in  this  cause.  The  king 
answered  these  complaints,  clause  by  clause, 
promising  redress  more  or  less  distinctly. 
There  is  not  room  to  give  this  petition  and  the 
answers  in  full,  but  as  all  the  subsequent 
troubles  between  Charles  and  the  people  of 
England  arose  out  of  this  difficulty  of  his 
young  wife's  bringing  in  so  strong  a  Catholic 
influoace  with  her  to  the  realm,  it  may  be  well 


BUCKINGHAM.  78 

to^'ve  an  abstract  of  some  of  the  principal 
petitions,  with  the  king's  answers. 

The  Commons  said 

That  they  had  understood  that  popish 
priests,  and  other  Catholics,  were  gradually 
f^reeping  in  as  teachers  of  the  youth  of  the 
realm,  in  the  various  seminaries  of  learning, 
and  they  wanted  to ,  have  decided  measures 
taken  to  examine  all  candidates  for  such  sta- 
tions, with  a  view  to  the  careful  exclusion  of 
nil  who  were  not  true  Protestants. 

Kinf/. — Allowed.  And  I  will  send  to  the 
archbishops  and  all  the  authorities  to  see  that 
Uiis  is  done. 

Commons. — That  more  efficient  arrangements 
•liould  be  made  for  appointing  able  and  faithful 
men  in  the  Church — men  that  will  really  devote 
themselves  to  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  peo- 
ple, instead  of  conferring  these  places  and 
salaries  on  favorites  ;  sometimes,  as  has  been 
the  case,  several  to  the  same  man. 

The  king  made  some  explanations  in  regard 
to  this  subject,  and  promised  hereafter  to  com- 
ply with  this  requisition. 

Commo7is. — That  the  laws  against  sending 
children  out  of  the  country  to  foreign  countries 
to  be  educated  in  Catholic  seminaries  should 
bo  strictly  enforced,  and  the  practise  be  eu« 
tirely  broken  up. 


74  KING   CHARLES  I. 

King, — Agreed ;  and  he  would  send  to  the 
lord  admiral,  and  to  all  the  naval  officers  on 
the  coast,  to  watch  very  carefully  and  stop  all 
children  attempting  to  go  abroad  for  such  a 
purpose  ;  and  he  would  issue  a  proclamation 
commanding  all  the  noblemen's  children  now 
on  the  Continent  to  return  by  a  given  day. 

Commons. — That  no  Catholic  (or,  as  they 
called  him,  popish  recusant,  that  is,  a  person 
refusing  to  subscribe  to  the  Protestant  faith, 
recusant  meaning  person  refusmg')  be  admit- 
ted into  the  king's  service  at  court ;  and  that 
no  English  Catholic  be  admitted  into  the 
Queen's  service.  They  could  not  refuse  to  al- 
low her  to  employ  her  own  French  attendants, 
but  to  appoint  English  Catholics  to  the  honor- 
able and  lucrative  offices  at  her  disposal  was 
doing  a  great  injury  to  the  Protestant  cause  in 
the  realm. 

The  king  agreed  to  this,  with  some  conditions 
and  evasions. 

Commons. — That  all  Jesuits  and  Catholic 
priests,  owing  allegiance  to  the  See  of  Eome, 

'should  be  sent  away  from  the  country,  accord- 
ing to  laws  already  existing,  after  fair  notice 
given  ;  and  if  they  would  not  go,   that  they 

'should  be  imprisoned  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
kept  from  all  communication  with  other  per- 


BUCKINGHAM,  75 

sons,  so  as  not  to  disseminate  their  false  re- 
ligion. 

King, — The  laws  on  this  subject  shall  be 
enforced. 

• 

The  above  are  sufficient  for  a  specimen  of 
these  complaints  and  of  the  king's  answers. 
There  were  many  more  of  them,  but  they  have 
all  the  same  character  and  end,  namely,  to  stop 
the  strong  current  of  Catholic  influence  and 
ascendancy  which  was  setting  in  to  the  court, 
and  through  the  court  into  the  realm,  through 
the  influence  of  the  young  queen  and  the  per- 
sons connected  with  her.  At  the  present  day, 
and  in  this  country,  the  Commons  will  be 
thought  to  be  in  the  wrong,  inasmuch  as  the 
thing  which  they  were  contending  against  was, 
in  the  main,  merely  the  toleration  of  the  Cath- 
olic religion.  But  then  the  king  was  in  the 
wrong  too,  for,  since  the  laws  against  this  tol- 
eration stood  enacted  by  the  consent  and  con- 
currence of  his  predecessors,  he  should  not 
have  allowed  them  to  be  infracted  and  virtually 
annulled  through  the  influence  of  a  foreign 
bride  and  an  unworthy  favorite. 

Perhaps  he  felt  that  he  waa  wrong,  or  per- 
haps his  answers  were  all  framed  for  him  by 
his  Privy  Council.  At  all  events,  they  were 
entirely  favorable  to  the  demands  of  the  Com- 
mons.    He  promised  everything.     In  many 


76  KING   CHARLES  I. 

tilings  he  went  even  beyond  their  demands.  It 
is  admitted,  however,  on  all  hands,  that,  so  far 
as  he  himself  had  any  agency  in  making  these 
replies,  he  was  not  really  sincere.  He  himself, 
and  Buckingham,  were  vei^  eager  to  get  sup- 
plies. Buckingham  was  admiral  of  the  fleet,, 
and  had  a  great  desire  to  enlarge  the  force  at 
his  command,  with  a  view  to  the  performing 
of  some  great  exploit  in  the  war.  It  is  under- 
stood,  therefore,  that  the  king  intended  his 
replies  as  promises  merely.  At  any  rate,  the 
promises  were  made.  The  Commons  were 
called  into  the  great  hall  again,  at  Christ 
Cliurch,  where  the  Peerj  assembled,  and  tlie 
king's  answers  were  read  to  them.  Bucking- 
bam  joined  in  this  policy  of  attempting  to  con- 
ciliate the  Commons.  He  went  into  their  as- 
sem])ly  and  made  a  long  speech,  explaining 
and  justifying  his  conduct,  and  apologizing,  in 
some  sense,  for  what  might  seem  to  be  wrong. 
The  Commons  returned  to  their  place  of  de- 
liberation, but  they  were  not  satisfied.  Thoy 
wanted  something  besides  promises.  Some 
were  in  favor  of  granting  suj^plies  -^in  grati- 
tude to  his  majesty  for  his  gracious  answer.'' 
Others  thought  differently.  They  did  not  see 
the  necessity  for  raising  money  for  this  foreign 
war.  They  had  greater  enemies  at  home 
(meaning  Buckingham  and  popery)  than  they 
kad  abroad.     Besides,  if  tlie  king  would  stop 


BUCKINGHAM.  77 

his  waste  and  oxtravagance  in  bestowing  hon- 
ors and  rewards,  there  would  be  money  enough 
for  all  necessary  uses.  In  a  word,  there  was 
much  debate,  but  nothing  done.  The  king, 
after  a  short  time,  sent  a  message  to  them 
urging  them  to  come  to  a  decision.  They  sent 
him  back  a  declaration  which  showed  that  they 
did  not  intend  to  yield.  Their  language,  how- 
ever, was  of  the  most  humble  character.  They 
called  him  **  their  dread  sovereign,"  and  them- 
selves **his  poor  commons."  The  king  was 
displeased  with  them,  and  dissolved  the  Parlia- 
ment. They,  of  course,  immediately  became 
private  citizens,  and  dispersed  to  their  homes. 
After  trying  gome  ineffectual  attempts  to 
raise  money  by  his  own  royal  prerogatives  and 
powers,  the  king  called  a  new  Parliament,  tak- 
ing some  curious  precautions  to  keep  out  of  it 
such  persons  as  he  thought  would  oppose  his 
plans.  The  Earl  of  Bristol,  whom  Buckingham 
had  been  so  jealous  of,  considering  him  as  his 
rival,  was  an  influential  membor  ci  the  House 
of  Peers.  Charles  and  Buokirighan?  agreed  to 
omit  him  in  sending  out  the  royal  writs  to 
summon  the  peers.  lie  petiMoned  Parliament, 
claiming  a  right  to  his  scat.  Charles  then  sent 
him  his  v/rit  but;  gave  him  a  command,  as  his 
sovereign,  not  to  attend  the  session.  He  also 
relected  four  of  the  prominent  men  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  men  ivhom  he  consi'le^-ad 


78  KING   CHARLES   I. 

most  influential  in  opposition  to  him  and  to 
Buckingham,  and  appointed  them  to  offices 
which  would  call  them  away  from  London ; 
and  as  it  was  the  understanding  in  those  days 
that  the  sovereign  had  a  right  to  command 
the  services  of  his  subjects,  they  were  obliged 
to  go.  The  king  hoped,  by  these  and  similar 
means,  to  diminish  the  influence  against  him 
in  Parliament,  and  to  get  a  majority  in  his 
favor.  But  his  plans  did  not  succeed.  Such 
measures  only  irritated  the  House  and  the 
country.  After  another  struggle,  this  Parlia- 
ment was  dissolved  too. 

Things  went  on  so  for  four  or  five  years,  the 
breach  between  the  king  and  the  people  grow- 
ing wider  and  wider.  Within  this  time  there 
were  four  Parliaments  called,  and,  after  various 
contentions  with  them,  they  were,  one  after 
another,  dissolved.  The  original  subject  of 
disagreement,  viz.,  the  growing  influence  of 
the  Catholics,  was  not  the  only  one.  Other 
points  came  up,  growing  out  of  the  king's  use 
of  his  prerogative,  and  his  irregular  and,  as 
they  thought,  illegal  attempts  to  interfere  with 
their  freedom  of  action.  The  king,  or,  rather, 
Buckingham,  using  the  king's  name,  resorted 
to  all  sorts  of  contrivances  to  accomplish  this 
object.  For  instance,  it  had  long  been  the 
custom,  in  case  any  member  of  the  House  of 
peers  was  absent,  for  him  to  give  authority  to 


BUCKINGHAM.  79 

any  friend  of  his,  who  was  also  a  member,  to 
vote  for  him.  This  authority  was  called  a 
l^roxy.  This  word  is  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  procuracy,  which  means  action  in  the 
place  of,  and  in  behalf  of,  another.  Bucking- 
ham induced  a  great  number  of  the  peers  to 
give  him  their  proxies.  He  did  this  by  re- 
wards, honors,  and  various  other  influences, 
and  he  found  so  many  willing  to  yield  to  these 
inducements,  that  ^t  one  time  he  had  thirty  or 
forty  proxies  in  his  hands.  Thus,  on  a  ques- 
tion arising  in  the  House  of  Lords,  he  could 
give  a  very  large  majority  of  votes.  The 
House,  after  murmuring  for  some  time,  and 
expressing  much  discontent  and  vexation  at 
this  state  of  things,  finally  made  a  law  that  no 
member  of  the  House  should  ever  have  power 
to  use  more  than  two  proxies. 

One  of  the  Parliaments  which  King  Charles 
assembled  at  length  brought  articles  of  im- 
peachment against  Buckingham,  and  a  long 
contest  arose  on  this  subject.  An  impeach- 
ment is  a  trial  of  a  high  officer  of  state  for 
maladministration  of  his  office.  All  sorts  of 
charges  were  brought  against  Buckingham, 
most  of  which  were  true.  The  king  considered 
their  interfering  to  call  one  of  his  ministers  to 
account  as  wholly  intolerable.  He  sent  them 
orders  to  dismiss  that  subject  from  their  de- 
liberations, and  to  proceed  immediately  with 


80  KING    CHARLES   I, 

til  oil'  work  of  Uiying  taxes  to  raise  money,  or 
he  would  dissolve  the  Parliament  as  lie  had 
done  before.  He  reminded  them  that  the 
Parliaments  were  entirely  *Mn  his  power  for 
their  calling,  sitting,  and  dissolution,  and  as 
he  found  their  fruits  were  for  good  or  evil,  so 
they  were  to  continue,  or  not  to  be."'  If  they 
would  mend  their  errors  and  do  their  duty, 
henceforward  he  would  forgive  the  past; 
otherwise  they  were  to  expect  his  irrecon- 
cilable hostility. 

This  language  irritated  instead  of  alarming 
them.  The  Commons  persisted  in  their  plan 
of  impeachment.  The  king  arres't-ed  the  men 
whom  they  appointed  as  managers  of  the  im- 
peachment, and  imprisoned  them.  The  Com- 
mons remonstrated,  and  insisted  that  Buck- 
ingham should  be  dismissed  from  the  king's 
service.  The  king,  instead  of  dismissing  him, 
took  measures  cr>  have  him  appointed,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  his  •other  offices.  Chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  a  very  exalted  sta- 
tion. Parliament  remonstrated.  The  king, 
in  retaliation,  dissolved  the  Parliament. 

Thus  things  went  on  from  bad  to  worse,  and 
from  worse  to  worse  again  ;  the  chief  cause  of 
che  difficulties,  in  almost  all  cases,  being  trace- 
able to  Buckingham's  reckless  and  arbitrary 
<3onduct.  He  was  continually  doing  something 
m  the  pursuit  of  his  own  ends,  by  the  rash  and 


BUCKINGHAM.  81 

heedless  exercMsc  of  the  vast  powers  eommitted 
to  him,  to  make  extensive  and  irreparable  mis- 
chief. At  one  time  he  ordered  a  part  of  the 
fleet  over  to  tlie  coast  of  France,  to  enter  tlie 
French  service,  the  sailors  expecting  that  they 
were  to  be  employed  against  the  Spaniards. 
'J'liey  found,  however,  that,  instead  of  going 
against  the  Spaniards,  they  were  to  be  sent  to 
Rochelle.  Rochelle  was  a  tow^n  in  France  in 
possession  of  the  Protestants,  and  the  King  of 
France  wanted  to  subdue  them.  The  sailors 
sent  a  remonstrance  to  their  commander,  bej:- 
ging  not  to  be  forced  to  fight  against  ineir 
brother  Protestants.  This  remonstrance  was- 
in  form,  what  is  called  a  Round  liohin. 

In  a  Round  Robin  a  circle  is  drawn,  the  pe- 
tition or  remonstrance  is  written  within  it,  and 
the  names  are  written  all  around  it,  to  prevent 
any  one's  having  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
being  the  first  signer.  When  the  commander 
of  the  fleet  received  the  Round  Robin,  instead 
of  being  offended,  he  inquired  into  the  facts, 
and  finding  that  the  case  was  really  as  the 
Round  Robin  represented  it,  he  broke  ar/ay 
from  the  French  command  and  returned  to 
England.  He  said  he  would  rather  be  hanged 
in  England  for  disobeying  orders  than  to  fight 
against  the  Protestants  of  France. 

Buckingham  might  have  known  that  such  a 
spirit  as  this  in  Englishmen  ^as  not  +o  be  tri- 


82  KING   CHARLES   I. 

fled  with.  But  ho  knew  notliing,  and  thought 
of  nothing,  except  that  he  wanted  to  please 
and  gratify  the  French  government.  When  the 
fleet,  therefore,  arrived  in  England,  he  peremp- 
torily ordered  it  back,  and  he  resorted  to  all 
sorts  of  pretexts  and  misrepresentations  of  tlie 
facts  to  persuade  the  officers  and  men  that  they 
were  not  to  be  employed  against  the  Protes- 
tants. The  fleet  accordingly  went  back,  and 
when  they  arrived,  they  found  that  Bucking- 
ham had  deceived  them.  They  were  ordered 
to  Kochelle.  One  of  the  ships  broke  away  and 
returned  to  England.  The  officers  and  men 
deserted  from  the  other  ships  and  got  home. 
The  whole  armament  was  disorganized,  and  the 
English  people,  who  took  sides  with  the  sailors, 
were  extremely  exasperated  against  Bucking- 
ham for  his  blind  and  blundering  recklessness, 
and  against  the  king  for  giving  such  a  man  the 
power  to  do  his  mischief  on  such  an  extensive 
scale. 

At  another  time  the  duke  and  the  king  con- 
trived to  fit  out  a  fleet  of  eighty  sail  to  make  a 
descent  upon  the  coast  of  Spain.  It  caused 
them  great  trouble  to  get  the  funds  for  this  ex- 
pedition, as  they  had  to  collect  them,  in  a  great 
measure,  by  various  methods  depending  on  the 
king's  prerogative,  and  not  by  authority  of  Par- 
liament. Thus  the  whole  country  were  dis- 
satisfied and  discontented  in  respect  to  the  fleet 


BUCKINGHAM.  83 

before  it  was  ready  to  sail.  Then,  as  if  this 
was  not  enough,  Ikickingham  overlooked  all  the 
olficers  in  the  navy  in  selecting  a  commander, 
and  put  an  officer  of  the  army  in  charge  of  it ; 
a  man  whose  whole  experience  had  been  ac- 
quired in  wars  on  the  land.  The  country 
thought  that  Buckingham  ought  to  have  taken 
the  command  himself,  as  lord  high  admiral ; 
and  if  not,  that  he  ought  to  have  selected  his 
commiinder  from  the  ranks  of  the  service  em- 
ployed. Thus  the  fleet  set  off  on  the  expedi- 
tion, all  on  board  burning  with  indignation 
against  the  arbitrary  and  absurd  management 
of  the  favorite.  The  result  of  the  expedition 
was  also  extremely  disastrous.  They  had  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  attack  a  number  of 
ships,  which  would  have  made  a  very  rich  prize  ; 
but  the  soldier-commander  either  did  not  knoAv, 
or  did  not  dare  to  do,  his  duty.  lie  finally, 
liowever,  effected  a  landing,  and  took  a  castle, 
but  the  sailors  found  a  great  store  of  wine 
there,  and  went  to  drinking  and  carousing, 
breaking  through  all  discipline.  The  com- 
mander had  to  get  them  on  board  again  imme- 
diately, and  come  away.  Then  he  conceived 
the  plan  of  going  to  intercept  what  were  called 
the  Spanish  galleons,  which  were  ships  em- 
ployed to  bring  home  silver  from  the  mines  in 
America,  which  the  Spaniards  then  possessed. 
dn  further  thoughts  he  concluded  to  give  up 


84  KING   CHAKLES   I. 

this  idea,  on  account  of  the  plague,  which,  it- 
he  said,  broke  out  in  his  ships.  So  he  came 
back  to  England  with  his  fleet  disorganized, 
demoralized,  and  crippled,  and  covered  with 
military  disgrace.  The  people  of  England 
charged  all  this  to  Buckingham.  Still  the 
king  persisted  in  retaining  him.  It  was  his 
prerogative  to  do  so. 

After  a  while  Buckingham  got  into  a  per- 
sonal quarrel  with  Eichelieu,  who  was  the  lead- 
ing manager  of  the  French  government,  and 
he  resolved  that  England  should  make  war 
upon  France.  To  alter  the  whole  political 
position  of  such  an  empire  as  that  of  Great 
Britain,  in  respect  to  peace  and  war,  and  to 
change  such  a  nation  as  France  from  a  friend 
to  an  enemy,  would  seem  to  be  quite  an  under- 
taking for  a  single  man  to  attempt,  and  that, 
too,  without  having  any  reason  whatever  to 
assign,  except  a  personal  quarrel  with  a  minis- 
ter about  a  love  affair.  But  so  it  was.  Buck- 
ingham undertook  it.  It  was  the  king's  pre- 
rogative to  make  peace  or  war,  and  Bucking- 
ham ruled  the  king. 

He  contrived  various  ways  of  fomenting  ill 
will.  One  was,  to  alienate  the  mind  of  the 
king  from  the  queen.  He  represented,  to  him 
tliat  the  queen's  French  servants  were  getting 
to  be  very  disrespectful  and  insolent  in  their 
treatment  of  him,  and  finally  persuaded  him 


BUCKINGHAM.  85 

to  send  them  all  home.  So  the  king  went  one 
day  to  Somerset  House,  which  was  the  queen's 
residence — for  it  is  often  the  custom  in  high 
life  in  Europe  for  tlie  husband  and  wife  to 
have  separate  establishments — and  requested 
her  to  summon  her  French  servants  into  his 
presence,  and  when  they  were  assembled,  he 
told  them  that  he  had  concluded  to  send  them 
all  home  to  France.  Some  of  them,  he  said, 
had  acted  properly  enough,  but  others  had  been 
rude  and  forward,  and  that  he  had  concluded 
it  best  to  send  them  all  home.  The  French 
king,  on  hearing  of  this,  seized  a  hundred  and 
twenty  English  ships  lying  in  his  harbors  in  re- 
taliation of  this  act,  which  he  said  was  a  pal- 
pable violation  of  the  marriage  contract,  as  it 
certainly  was.  Upon  this  the  king  declared 
war  against  France.  He  did  not  ask  Parliament 
to  act  in  this  case  at  all.  There  was  no  Parlia- 
ment. Parliament  had  been  dissolved  in  a  fit 
of  displeasure.  The  whole  affair  was  an  exer- 
cise of  the  royal  prerogative.  He  did  not  dare 
to  call  a  Parliament  to  provide  means  for  car- 
rying on  the  war,  but  set  his  Privy  Council  to 
devise  modes  of  doing  it,  through  this  same 
prerogative. 

The  attempts  to  raise  money  in  these  ways 
made  great  trouble.  The  people  resisted,  and 
interposed  all  possible  difficulties.  However, 
some  funds  were  raised,  and  a  fleet  of  a  hun- 

7— C)i»rl«i  I. 


»b  KING   CHATlLES   I. 

dred  sail,  and  an  army  of  seven  thousand  men, 
were  got  together.  Buckingham  undertook 
the  command  of  this  expedition  himself,  as 
there  had  been  so  mucli  dissatisfaction  with  his 
appointment  of  a  commander  to  the  other.  It 
resulted  just  as  was  to  be  expected  in  the  case 
of  seven  thousand  men,  and  a  hundred  ships, 
afloat  on  the  swelling  surges  of  the  English 
Channel,  under  the  command  of  vanity,  reck- 
lessness, and  folly.  The  duke  came  back  to 
England  in  three  months,  bringing  home  one- 
third  of  his  force.  The  rest  had  been  lost, 
without  accomplishing  anything.  The  measure 
of  j)ublic  indignation  against  Buckingham  was 
now  full. 

Buckingham  himself  walked  as  loftily  and 
proudly  as  ever.  He  got  up  another  fleet,  and 
was  preparing  to  set  sail  in  it  himself,  as  com- 
mander again.  He  went  to  Portsmouth,  ac- 
cordingly, for  this  purpose,  Portsmouth  being 
the  great  naval  station  then,  as  now,  on  the 
southern  coast  of  England.  Here  a  man  named 
Eelton,  who  had  been  an  officer  under  the  duke 
in  the  former  expedition,  and  who  had  been  ex- 
tremely exasperated  against  him  on  account  of 
some  of  his  management  there,  and  who  had 
since  found  how  universal  was  the  detestation 
of  him  in  England,  resolved  to  rid  the  country 
of  such  a  curse  at  once.  He  accordingly  took 
bis  station  in   the  passage-way  of  the  house 


CharUt  I.  face  j).8C 

^  AssaBsination  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham, 


BUCKINGHAM.  87 

where  Buckingham  was,  armed  with  a  knife. 
Buckingham  came  out,  talking  with  some 
Frenchmen  in  an  angry  manner,  having  had 
some  dispute  with  them,  and  Felton  thrust  the 
knife  into  his  side  as  he  passed,  and,  leaving  it 
in  the  wound,  walked  away,  no  one  having 
noticed  who  did  the  deed.  Buckingham  pulled 
out  the  knife,  fell  down,  and  died.  The  by- 
standers were  going  to  seize  one  of  the  French- 
men, when  Felton  advanced  and  said,  *'I  am 
the  man  who  did  the  deed  ;  let  no  man  suffer 
that  is  innocent."  He  was  taken.  They  found 
a  paper  in  his  hat,  saying  that  he  was  going  to 
destroy  the  duke,  and  that  he  could  not  sacri- 
fice his  life  in  a  nobler  cause  than  by  delivering 
his  country  from  so  great  an  enemy. 

King  Charles  was  four  miles  off  at  this  time. 
They  carried  him  the  news.  He  did  not  ap- 
pear at  all  concerned  or  troubled,  but  only  di- 
rected that  the  murderer — he  ought  to  have 
said,  perhaps,  the  executioner — should  be 
secured,  and  that  the  fleet  should  proceed  to 
sail.  He  also  ordered  the  treasurer  to  make 
arrangements  for  a  splendid  funeral. 

The  treasurer  said,  in  reply,  that  a  funeral 
would  only  be  a  temporary  show,  and  that  he 
could  hereafter  erect  a  monument  at  half  tlie 
cost,  which  would  be  a  much  more  lasting  me- 
morial. Charles  acceded.  Afterward,  when 
Charles  spoke  to  him  about  the  monument,  the 


88  KING   CHARLES   T. 

treasurer  replied,  What  would  the  world  say  if 
your  majesty  were  to  build  a  monument  to  the 


Buckingham  Execrated  by  the  Populace. 

duke  before  you  erect  one  for  your  father  ?  So 
the  plan  was  abandoned,  and  Buckingham  had 
no  other  monument  than  the  universal  detesta- 
tion of  his  countrymeu. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE   KIXG    AND    HIS    PREROGATIVE. 


The  great  difficulty  in  governing  without  a 
Parliament  was  how  to  raise  funds.  By  the 
old  customs  and  laws  of  the  realm,  a  tax  upon 
the  people  could  only  be  levied  by  the  action 
of  the  House  of  Commons  ;  and  the  great  ob- 
ject of  tlie  king  and  council  during  Bucking- 
ham's life,  in  summoning  Parliaments  from  time 
to  time  was  to  get  their  aid  in  this  point. 
But  as  Charles  found  that  one  Parliament  after 
another  withheld  the  grants,  and  spent  their 
time  in  complaining  of  his  government,  ho 
would  dissolve  them,  successively,  after  ex- 
hausting all  possible  means  of  bringing  them 
to  a  compliance  with  his  will.  He  would  then 
be  thrown  upon  his  own  resources. 

Tlie  king  had  soine  resources  of  his  own. 
These  were  certain  estates,  and  lands,  and 
other  property,  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
which  belonged  to  the  crown,  the  income  of 
which  the  king  could  appropriate.  But  the 
umount  which  could  bo  derived    from    this 

89 


90  KING   CHARLES   I. 

source  was  very  small.  Then  there  were  certain 
other  modes  of  raising  money,  which  had  been 
resorted  to  by  former  monarchs,  in  emergen- 
cies, at  distant  intervals,  but  still  in  instances 
so  numerous  that  the  king  considered  prece- 
dents enough  had  been  established  to  make  the 
power  to  resort  to  these  modes  a  part  of  the 
prerogative  of  the  crown.  The  people,  how- 
ever, considered  these  acts  of  former  monarchs 
as  irregularities  or  usurpations.  They  denied 
the  king's  right  to  resort  to  these  methods,  and 
they  threw  so  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
the  execution  of  his  plans,  that  finally  he  would 
call  another  Parliament,  and  make  new  efforts 
to  lead  them  to  conform  to  his  will.  The  more 
the  experiment  was  tried,  however,  the  worse 
it  succeeded  ;  and  at  last  the  king  determined 
to  give  up  the  idea  of  Parliaments  altogether, 
and  to  compel  the  people  to  submit  to  his  plans 
of  raising  money  without  them. 

The  final  dissolution  of  Parliament,  by  which 
Charles  entered  upon  his  new  plan  of  govern- 
ment, was  attended  with  some  resistance,  and 
the  affair  made  great  difficulty.  It  seems  that 
one  of  the  members,  a  certain  Mr.  Rolls,  had 
had  some  of  his  goods  seized  for  payment  of 
some  of  the  king's  irregular  taxes,  which  he 
had  refused  to  pay  willingly.  ISTow  it  had  al- 
ways been  considered  the  law  of  the  land  in 
England,  that  the  person  and  the  property  of  a 


THE  KING   AND   HIS   PREROGATIVE.      91 

member  of  Parliament  were  sacred  during  the 
session,  on  the  ground  that  while  he  was  giving 
liis  attendance  at  a  council  meeting  called  by 
his  sovereign,  he  ought  to  be  protected  from 
molestation  on  the  part  either  of  his  fellow-sub- 
jects or  his  sovereign,  in  his  person  and  in  his 
property.     The  House  of  Commons  considered, 
therefore,  the  seizure  of  the  goods  of  one  of  the 
members  of  the  body  as  a  breach  of  their  priv- 
ilege, and  took  up  the  subject  with  a  view  to 
punish  the  officers  who  acted.     The  king  sent 
a  message   immediately  to  the  House,   wlrile 
tliey  were  debating  the  subject,  saying  that  the 
otticer  acted,  in  seizing  the  goods,  in  obedience 
to  his  own  direct   command.     This  produced 
great  excitement  and  long  debates.     The  king, 
by  taking  the  responsibility  of  the  seizure  upon 
himself,    seemed  to  bid  the   House  defiance. 
They  brought  up  this  question  :  "  AVhether  the 
seizing  of  Mr.  Rolls's  goods  was  not  a  breach 
ot  privilege  ?  "     When  the  time  came  for  a  de- 
cision, the  speaker,  that  is,  the  presiding  officer, 
refused  to  put  the  question  to  vote.     He  said 
lie  Iiad  been  commanded  hj  the  king  not  to  do 
it !     The  House  were  indignant,  and  immedi- 
ately adjourned  for  two  days,  probably  for  the 
purpose  of  considering,  and  perhaps  consulting 
their  constituents  on  what  they  were  to  do  in 
so  extraordinary  an  emergency  as   the  king's 
coming  into  their  own  body  and  interfering 


92  KING  CHARLES  I. 

with  the  functions  of  one  of  their  own  proper 
officers. 

They  met  on  the  day  to  which  they  had  ad- 
journed, prepared  to  insist  on  the  speaker's 
putting  the  question.  But  he,  immediately  on 
the  House  coming  to  order,  said  that  he  had 
received  the  king's  command  to  adjourn  the 
House  for  a  week,  and  to  put  no  question  what- 
ever. He  then  was  going  to  leave  the  chair, 
but  two  of  the  members  advanced  to  him  and 
held  him  in  his  place,  while  they  read  some 
resolutions  which  had  been  prepared.  There 
was  great  confusion  and  clamor.  Some  insisted 
that  the  House  was  adjourned,  some  were  de- 
termined to  pass  the  resolutions.  The  resolu- 
tions were  very  decided.  They  declared  that 
whoever  should  counsel  or  advise  the  laying  of 
taxes  not  granted  by  Parliament,  or  be  an  actor 
or  instrument  in  collecting  them,  should  be  ac- 
counted an  innovator,  and  a  capital  enemy  to 
the  kingdom  and  Commonwealth.  And  also, 
that  if  any  person  whatever  should  voluntarily 
pay  such  taxes,  he  should  be  counted  a  capital 
enemy  also.  These  resolutions  were  read  in 
the  midst  of  great  uproar.  The  king  was  in- 
formed of  the  facts,  and  sent  for  the  sergeant 
of  the  House — one  of  the  highest  officers — but 
the  members  locked  the  door,  and  would  not 
let  the  sergeant  go.  Then  the  king  sent  one 
of  his  owu  oflScers  to  the  House  with  a  roes* 


THE   KING   AND    HIS   PREROGATIVE.      93 

sage.  The  members  kept  the  door  locked,  and 
would  not  let  him  in  until  they  had  disposed  of 
the  resolutions.  Then  the  House  adjourned 
for  a  week. 

The  next  day,  several  of  the  leading  mem- 
bers who  were  supposed  to  have  been  active  in 
these  proceedings  were  summoned  to  appear 
before  the  council.  They  refused  to  answer 
out  of  Parliament  for  what  was  said  and  done 
by  them  in  Parliament.  The  council  sent 
them  to  prison  in  the  Tower. 

The  week  passed  away,  and  the  time  for  the 
reassembling  of  the  Houses  arrived.  It  had 
been  known,  during  the  week,  that  the  king 
had  determined  on  dissolving  Parliament.  It 
is  usual,  in  dissolving  a  Parliament,  for  the 
sovereign  not  to  appear  in  person,  but  to  send 
his  message  of  dissolution  by  some  person 
commissioned  to  deliver  it.  This  is  called  dis- 
solving the  House  by  commission.  The  disso- 
lution is  always  declared  in  tlie  House  of  Lords, 
the  Commons  being  summoned  to  attend.  In 
this  case,  however,  the  king  attended  in  person. 
He  was  dressed  magnificently  in  his  royal 
robes,  and  wore  his  crown.  He  would  not 
deign,  however,  to  send  for  the  Commons.  He 
entered  the  House  of  Peers,  and  took  his  seat 
upon  the  throne.  Several  of  the  Commons, 
however,  came  in  of  their  own  accord,  and 
stood  below  the  bar,  at  the  usual  place  assigned 


94  KING   CHARLES   I. 

them.  The  king  then  rose  and  read  the  fol- 
lowing speech.  The  antiquity  of  the  language 
gives  it  an  air  of  quaintness  now  which  it  did 
not  possess  then. 

*'  My  Lords, — I  never  came  here  upon  so  un- 
pleasant an  occasion,  it  being  the  Dissolution 
of  a  Parliament.  Therefore  Men  may  have 
some  cause  to  wonder  why  I  should  not  rather 
chuse  to  do  this  by  Commission,  it  being  a 
general  Maxim  of  Kings  to  leave  harsh  Com- 
mands to  their  Ministers,  Themselves  only  exe- 
cuting pleasing  things.  Yet  considering  that 
Justice  as  well  consists  in  Eeward  and  Praise  of 
Virtue  as  Punishing  of  Vice,  I  thought  it  nec- 
essary to  come  here  to-day,  and  to  declare  to 
you  and  all  the  World,  that  it  was  merely  the 
undutiful  and  seditious  Carriage  in  the  Lower 
House  that  hath  made  the  Dissolution  of  this 
Parliament.  And  you,  my  Lords,  are  so  far 
from  being  any  Causers  of  it,  that  I  take  as 
much  comfort  in  your  dutiful  Demeanour,  as 
I  am  justly  distasted  with  their  Proceedings. 
Yet,  to  avoid  their  Mistakings,  let  me  tell  you, 
that  it  is  so  far  from  me  to  adjudge  all  the 
House  alike  guilty,  that  I  know  there  are  many 
there  as  dutiful  subjects  as  any  in  the  World ; 
it  being  but  some  few  Vipers  among  them  that 
did  cast  this  Mist  of  Undutifulness  over  most 
of  tbeir  !Eyes.    Yet  to  say  Truth,  there  was  a 


THE   KING   AND  HIS  PREROGATIVE.      95 

good  Number  there  that  could  not  be  infected 
with  this  Contagion. 

"To  conclude,  As  those  Vipers  must  look 
for  their  Reward  of  Punishment,  so  you,  my 
Lords,  may  justly  expect  from  me  that  Favor 
and  Protection  tliat  a  good  King  oweth  to  his 
loving  and  faithful  Nobility.  And  now,  my 
Lord  Keeper,  do  what  I  have  commanded  you." 

Then  the  lord  keeper  pronounced  the  Par- 
liament dissolved.  The  lord  keeper  was  the 
keeper  of  the  great  seal,  one  of  the  highest 
officers  of  the  crown. 

Of  course  this  affair  produced  a  fever  of  ex- 
citement against  the  king  throughout  the  whole 
realm.  This  excitement  was  kept  up  and  in- 
creased by  the  trials  of  the  members  of  Parlia- 
ment who  had  been  imprisoned.  The  courts 
decided  against  them,  and  they  were  sentenced 
to  long  imprisonment  and  to  heavy  fines.  The 
king  now  determined  to  do  without  Parliaments 
entirely  ;  and,  of  course,  he  had  to  raise  money 
by  his  royal  prerogative  altogether,  as  he  had 
done,  in  fact,  before,  a  great  deal,  during  the 
intervals  between  the  successive  Parliaments. 
It  will  not  be  very  entertaining,  but  it  will  be 
very  useful  to  the  reader  to  peruse  carefully 
some  account  of  the  principal  methods  resorted 
to  by  the  king.  In  order,  however,  to  diminish 
the  necessity  for  money  as  much  as  possijble. 


96  KING   CHARLES  1. 

the  king  prepared  to  make  peace  with  France 
and  Spain  ;  and  as  they,  as  well  as  England, 
were  exhausted  with  the  wars,  this  was  readily 
effected. 

One  of  the  resorts  adopted  by  the  king  was 
to  a  system  of  Joans,  as  they  were  called, 
though  these  loans  differed  from  those  made  by 
governments  at  the  present  day,  in  being  appor- 
tioned upon  the  whole  community  according  to 
their  liability  to  taxation,  and  in  being  made, 
in  some  respects,  compulsory.  The  loan  was 
not  to  be  absolutely  collected  by  force,  but  all 
were  expected  to  lend,  and  if  any  refused,  they 
were  to  be  required  to  make  oath  that  they 
would  not  tell  anybody  else  that  they  had  re- 
fused, in  order  that  the  influence  of  their  ex- 
ample might  not  operate  upon  others.  Those 
who  did  refuse  were  to  be  reported  to  the  gov- 
ernment. The  officers  appointed  to  collect 
these  loans  were  charged  not  to  make  unneces- 
sary difficulty,  but  to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
induce  the  people  to  contribute  freely  and  will- 
ingly. This  plan  had  been  before  adopted,  in 
the  time  of  Buckingham,  but  it  met  with  little 
success. 

Another  plan  which  was  resorted  to  was  the 
granting  of  what  was  called  monopolies  :  that 
is,  the  government  would  select  some  impor- 
tant and  necessary  articles  in  general  use,  and 
give   the  exclusive    right    of    manufacturing 


THE  KING   AND   HIS  PREROGATIVE.      97 

them  to  certain  persons,  on  tlieir  paying  a 
part  of  tlie  profits  to  the  government.  Soap 
was  one  of  tlie  articles  thus  chosen.  The  ex- 
clusive right  to  manufacture  it  Avas  given  to  a 
company,  on  their  paying  for  it.  So  with 
leather,  salt,  and  various  other  things.  These 
persons,  when  they  once  possessed  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  manufacture  an  article  which 
the  people  must  use,  would  ahuse  their  power 
hy  deteriorating  the  article,  or  charging 
enormous  prices.  Xothing  i)revented  their 
doing  this,  as  they  had  no  competition.  The 
effect  was,  that  the  people  were  injured  much 
more  than  tlie  government  was  benefited.  The 
plan  of  granting  such  monopolies  by  govern- 
ments is  now  universally  odious. 

Another  method  of  taxation  was  what  was 
called  tonnage  and  2)ounda<je.  This  was  an 
ancient  tax,  assessed  on  merchandise  brought 
into  the  country  in  ships,  like  the  duties  now 
collected  at  our  custom-houses.  It  was  called 
tonnage  and  poundage  because  the  merchan- 
dise on  which  it  was  assessed  was  reckoned  by 
weight,  viz.,  the  ton  and  the  pound.  A 
former  king,  Edward  III.  first  assessed  it  to 
raise  money  to  suppress  piracy  on  the  seas.  He 
said  it  was  reasonable  that  the  merchandise 
protected  should  pay  the  expense  of  the  pro- 
tection, and  in  proper  proportion.  The  Parlia- 
ment iu  that  day  opposed  this  tax,    They  did 


98  KING  CHARLES   I. 

not  object  to  the  tax  itself,  but  to  the  king's 
assessing  it  by  his  own  authority.  However, 
they  granted  it  themselves  afterward,  and  it 
was  regularly  collected.  Subsequent  Parlia- 
ments had  granted  it,  and  generally  made  the 
law,  once  for  all,  to  continue  in  force  during 
the  life  of  the  monarch.  When  Charles  com- 
menced  his  reign,  the  Peers  were  for  renewing 
the  law  as  usual,  to  continue  throughout  his 
reign.  The  Commons  wanted  to  enact  the 
law  only  for  a  year  at  a  time,  so  as  to  keep  the 
power  in  their  own  hands.  The  two  houses 
thus  disagreed,  and  nothing  was  done.  The 
king  then  went  on  to  collect  the  tax  without 
any  authority  except  his  own  prerogative. 

Another  mode  of  levying  money  adopted  by 
the  king  was  what  was  called  ship  money. 
This  was  a  plan  for  raising  a  navy  by  making 
every  town  contribute  a  certain  number  of 
ships,  or  the  money  necessary  to  build  them. 
It  originated  in  ancient  times,  and  was  at  first 
confined  to  seaport  towns  which  had  ships. 
These  towns  were  required  to  furnish  them  for 
the  king's  service,  sometimes  to  be  paid  for  by 
the  king,  at  other  times  by  the  country,  and 
at  other  times  not  to  be  paid  for  at  all.  Charles 
revived  this  plan,  extending  it  to  the  whole 
country  ;  a  tax  was  assessed  on  all  the  towns, 
each  one  being  required  to  furnish  money 
enough  for  a  certain  number  of  ships.     The 


THE   KING   AND   HIS   PREROGATIVE.      99 

number  at  one  time  required  of  the  city  of 
London  was  twenty. 

There  was  one  man  who  made  his  name 
very  celebrated  then,  and  it  has  continued  very 
celebrated  since,  by  his  refusal  to  pay  his  ship 
money,  and  by  his  long  and  determined  con- 
test with  the  government  in  regard  to  it,  in 
the  courts.  His  name  was  John  Hampden. 
He  was  a  man  of  fortune  and  high  character. 
His  tax  for  ship  money  was  only  twenty  shil- 
lings, bat  he  declared  that  "he  would  not  pay  it 
without  a  trial.  The  king  had  previously  ob- 
tained the  opinion  of  the  judges  that  he  had  a 
right,  in  case  of  necessity,  to  assess  and  collect 
the  ship  money,  and  Hampden  knew,  therefore, 
that  the  decision  would  certainly,  in  the  end, 
be  against  him.  He  knew,  however,  that  the 
attention  of  the  whole  country  would  be  at- 
tracted to  the  trial,  and  that  the  arguments 
which  he  should  offer  to  prove  that  the  act  of 
collecting  such  a  tax  on  the  part  of  the  king's 
government  was  illegal  and  tyrannical,  would 
be  spread  before  the  country,  and  would  make 
a  great  impression,  although  they  certainly 
would  not  alter  the  opinion  of  the  judges, 
who,  holding  their  offices  by  the  king's  ap- 
pointment, were  strongly  inclined  to  take  his 
side. 

It  resulted  as  Hampden  had  foreseen.     The 
trial  attracted  universal  attention.    It  was  a 

8— Charlen  1. 


100  KING   CHARLES  I. 

great  spectacle  to  see  a  man  of  fortune  and 
standing  like  him,  making  all  those  prepara- 
tions, and  incurring  so  great  expense,  on  ac- 
count of  a  refusal  to  pay  five  dollars,  knowing, 
too,  that  he  would  have  to  pay  it  in  the  end. 
The  people  of  the  realm  were  convinced  that 
Hampden  was  right,  and  they  applauded  and 
honored  him  very  greatly  for  his  spirit  and 
courage.  The  trial  lasted  twelve  days.  The 
illegality  and  injustice  of  the  tax  were  fully 
exposed.  The  people  concurred  entirely  with 
him,  and  even  a  part  of  the  judges  were  con, 
vinced.  He  was  called  the  patriot  Hampden, 
and  his  name  will  always  be  celebrated  in  Eng- 
lish history.  The  whole  discussion,  however, 
though  it  produced  a  great  effect  at  the  time, 
would  be  of  no  interest  now,  since  it  turned 
mainly  on  the  question  what  the  king's  rights 
actually  were,  according  to  the  ancient  cus- 
toms and  usages  of  the  realm.  The  question 
before  mankind  now  is  a  very  different  one  ; 
it  is  not  what  the  powers  and  prerogatives  of 
government  have  been  in  times  past,  but 
what  they  ought  to  be  now  and  in  time  to 
come. 

The  king's  government  gained  the  victory, 
ostensibly,  in  this  contest,  and  Hampden  had 
to  pay  hts  money.  Very  large  sums  were  coU 
lected,  also,  from  others  by  this  tax,  and  a 
great  fleet  was  raised.    The  perfgrmauces  and 


THE   KING   AND  HIS   PUEROGATIVE.      101 

exploits  of  tlie  fleet  had  some  influence  in 
quieting  the  murmurs  of  the  people.  The 
fleet  was  the  greatest  whicli  England  had  ever 
possessed.  One  of  its  exploits  was  to  compel 
the  Dutch  to  pay  a  large  sum  for  the  privilege 
of  fishing  in  the  narrow  seas  about  Great  Brit- 
ain. The  Dutch  had  always  maintained  that 
these  seas  were  public,  and  open  to  all  the 
world  ;  and  they  had  a  vast  number  of  fishing 
boats,  called  herring-busses,  that  used  to  resort 
to  them  for  the  purpose  of  catching  lierring, 
which  they  made  a  business  of  preserving  and 
sending  all  over  the  world.  The  English  ships 
attacked  these  fleets  of  herring-])us3es,  and 
drove  them  off ;  and  as  the  Dutch  were  not 
strong  enough  to  defend  them,  tliey  agreed  to 
pay  a  large  sum  annually  for  the  riglit  to  fish 
in  the  seas  in  question,  protesting,  however, 
against  it  as  an  extortion,  for  tliey  maintained 
that  the  English  had  no  control  over  any  seas 
beyond  the  bays  and  estuaries  of  their  own 
sliores. 

One  of  the  chief  means  which  Charles  de- 
pended upon  during  tlie  long  period  that  he 
governed  without  a  Parliament,  was  a  cer- 
tain famous  tribunal  or  court  called  the  Star 
Chamber.  This  court  was  a  very  ancient  one, 
having  been  established  in  some  of  the  earliest 
reigns ;  but  it  never  attracted  any  special  at- 
tention until  the  time  of  Charles.    His  govern- 


102  KING   CHARLES   I. 

ment  called  it  into  action  a  great  deal,  and 
extended  its  powers,  and  made  it  a  means  of 
great  injustice  and  oppression,  as  the  people 
thought,  or,  as  Charles  would  have  said,  a  very 
efficient  means  of  vindicating  his  prerogative, 
and  punishing  the  stubborn  and  rebellious. 

There  were  three  reasons  why  this  court  was 
a  more  convenient  and  powerful  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  the  king  and  his  council  than  any 
of  the  other  courts  in  the  kingdom.  First,  it 
was,  by  its  ancient  constitution,  composed  of 
members  of  the  council,  with  the  exception  of 
two  persons,  who  where  to  be  judges  in  the 
other  courts.  This  plan  of  having  two  judges 
from  the  common  law  courts  seems  to  have 
been  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  securing  some 
sort  of  conformity  of  the  Star  Chamber  deci- 
sions with  the  ordinary  principles  of  English 
jurisprudence.  But  then,  as  those  two  law 
judges  would  always  be  selected  with  reference 
to  their  disposition  to  carry  out  the  king's 
plans,  and  as  the  other  members  of  the  court 
were  all  members  of  the  government  itself,  of 
course  the  court  was  almost  entirely  under 
governmental  control. 

The  second  reason  was,  that  in  this  court 
there  was  no  jury.  There  had  never  been  ju- 
ries employed  in  it  from  its  earliest  constitu- 
tion. The  English  had  contrived  the  plan  of 
trial  by  jury  as  a  defense  against  the  severity 


THE   KING  AND   HIS   PREROGATIVE.      103 

of  government.  If  a  man  was  accused  of  crime, 
the  judges  appointed  by  tlie  government  that 
he  had  offended  were  not  to  be  allowed  to  de- 
cide whether  he  was  guilty  or  not.  They 
would  be  likely  not  to  be  impartial.  The 
question  of  his  guilt  or  innocence  was  to  be 
left  to  twelve  men,  taken  at  hazard  from  the 
ordinary  walks  of  life,  and  who,  consequently, 
would  be  likely  to  sympathize  with  the  accused, 
if  they  saw  any  disposition  to  oppress  him, 
rather  than  to  join  against  him  with  a  tyran- 
nical government.  Thus  the  jury,  as  they 
said,  was  a  great  safeguard.  The  English  have 
always  attached  great  value  to  their  system  of 
trial  by  jury.  The  plan  is  retained  in  this 
country,  though  there  is  less  necessity  for  it 
under  our  institutions.  Now,  in  the  Star 
Chamber,  it  had  never  been  the  custom  to 
employ  a  jury.  The  members  of  the  court 
decided  the  whole  question  ;  and  as  they  were 
entirely  in  the  interest  of  the  government,  the 
government,  of  course,  had  the  fate  of  every 
person  accused  under  their  direct  control. 

The  third  reason  consisted  in  the  nature  of 
the  crimes  which  it  had  always  been  customary 
to  try  in  this  court.  It  had  jurisdiction  m  a 
great  variety  of  cases  in  which  men  were 
brought  into  collision  with  the  government, 
such  as  charges  of  riot,  sedition,  libel,  opposi- 
tion to  the  edicts  of  the  council,  and  to  proc- 


104  KING  CHAKLES   t. 

lamations  of  the  king.  These  and  similar 
cases  had  always  been  tried  by  the  Star  Cham- 
ber ;  and  these  were  exactly  the  cases  which 
ought  not  to  be  tried  by  such  a  court ;  for  per- 
sons accused  of  hostility  to  government  ought 
not  to^be  tried  by  government  itself. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  discussion 
about  the  origin  of  the  term  Star  Chamber. 
The  hall  where  the  court  was  held  was  in  a 
palace  at  AVestminster,  and  there  were  a  great 
many  windows  in  it.  Some  think  that  it  was 
from  this  that  the  court  received  its  name. 
Others  suppose  it  was  because  the  court  had 
cognizance  of  a  certain  crime,  the  Latin  name 
of  which  has  a  close  affinity  with  the  word  star. 
Another  reason  is,  that  certain  documents 
called  starray  used  to  be  kept  in  the  hall.  The 
prettiest  idea  is  a  sort  of  tradition  that  the 
ceiling  of  the  hall  was  formerly  ornamented 
with  stars,  and  that  this  circumstance  gave 
name  to  the  hall.  This  supposition,  however, 
unfortunately,  has  no  better  foundation  than 
the  otliers  ;  for  there  were  no  stars  on  the 
ceiling  in  Charles's  time,  and  there  had  not 
been  any  for  a  hundred  years  ;  nor  is  there  any 
positive  evidence  Ihat  there  ever  were.  How- 
ever, in  the  absence  of  any  real  reason  for  pre- 
ferring one  of  these  ideas  over  the  other, 
mankind  seem  to  have  wisely  determined  on 
choosing  the  prettiest  of  tliem,  so  that  it  i» 


THE  KING  AND  HIS  PREROGATIVE.      105 

generally  agreed  that  the  origin  of  the  name 
was  the  ancient  decoration  of  the  ceiling  of  the 
hall  with  gilded  stars. 

However  this  may  be,  the  court  of  the  Star 
Chamber  was  an  engine  of  prodigious  power  in 
the  hands  of  Charles's  government.  It  helped 
them  in  two  ways.  They  could  punish  their 
enemies,  and  where  these  enemies  were  wealthy, 
they  could  fill  up  the  treasury  of  the  govern- 
ment by  imposing  enormous  fines  upon  them. 
Sometimes  the  offenses  for  which  these  fines 
were  imposed  were  not  of  a  nature  to  deserve 
such  severe  penalties.  For  instance,  there  was 
a  law  against  turning  tillage  land  into  pastur- 
age. Land  that  is  tilled  supports  men.  Land 
that  is  pastured  supports  cattle  and  shoop. 
The  former  were  a  burden,  sometimes,  to  land- 
lords, the  latter  a  means  of  wealth.  Hence 
there  was  then,  as  there  is  now,  a  tendency  in 
England,  in  certain  parts  of  the  country,  for 
the  landed  proprietors  to  change  their  tillage 
land  to  pasture,  and  thus  drive  the  peasants 
away  from  their  homes.  There  were  laws 
against  this,  but  a  great  many  persons  haa 
done  it  notwithstanding.  One  of  these  persons 
was  fined  four  thousand  pounds  :  an  enormous 
sum.  The  rest  were  alarmed,  and  made  rom- 
poHitionSy  as  they  were  called  ;  that  is,  they 
paid  at  once  a  certain  sum  on  condition  of  not 
being  prosecuted.     Thirty  thousand  pounds 


106  KING   CHARLES  I. 

were  collected  in  this  way,  which  was  then  a 
very  large  amount. 

There  were  in  those  days,  as  there  are  now, 
certain  tracts  of  land  in  England  called  the 
king's  forests,  though  a  large  portion  of  them 
are  now  without  trees.  The  boundaries  of 
these  lands  had  not  been  very  well  defined,  but 
the  government  now  published  decrees  specify- 
ing the  boundaries,  and  extending  them  so  far 
as  to  include,  in  many  cases,  the  buildings  and 
improvements  of  other  proprietors.  They  then 
prosecuted  these  proprietors  for  having  en- 
croached, as  they  called  it,  upon  the  crown 
lands,  and  the  Star  Chamber  assessed  very 
heavy  fines  upon  them.  The  people  said  all 
this  was  done  merely  to  get  pretext  to  extort 
money  from  the  nation,  to  make  up  for  the 
want  of  a  Parliament  to  assess  regular  taxes  ; 
but  the  government  said  it  was  a  just  and 
legal  mode  of  protecting  the  ancient  and  legiti- 
mate rights  of  the  king. 

In  these  and  similar  modes,  large  sums  of 
money  were  collected  as  fines  and  penalties  for 
offenses  more  or  less  real.  In  other  cases  very 
severe  punishments  were  inflicted  for  various 
sorts  of  offenses  committed  against  the  personal 
dignity  of  the  king,  or  the  great  lords  of  his 
government.  It  was  considered  highly  impor- 
tant to  repress  all  appearance  of  disrespect  or 
hostility  to  the  king.     One  man  got  into  some 


THE   KING    AND   HIS   PREROGATIVE.      107 

contention  with  one  of  the  king's  officers,  and 
finally  struck  him.  He  was  fined  ten  tliousand 
pounds.  Another  man  said  that  a  certain 
archbishop  had  incurred  the  king's  displeasure 
!)y  wanting  some  toleration  for  the  Catholics. 
This  was  considered  a  slander  against  the  arch- 
bishop, and  the  offender  was  sentenced  to  be 
fined  a  thousand  pounds,  to  be  whipped,  im- 
prisoned, and  to  stand  in  the  pillory  at  AVest- 
minster,  and  at  three  other  ,  places  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom. 

A  gentleman  was  following  a  chase  as  a 
spectator,  the  hounds  belonging  to  a  noble- 
man. The  huntsman,  who  had  charge  of  the 
liounds,  ordered  him  to  keep  back,  and  not 
come  so  near  the  hounds  ;  and  in  giving  him 
this  order,  spoke,  as  the  gentleman  alleged,  so 
insolently,  that  he  struck  him  with  his  riding- 
whip.  The  huntsman  threatened  to  complain 
to  his  master,  the  nobleman.  The  gentleman 
said  that  if  his  master  should  justify  him  in 
such  insulting  language  as  he  had  used,  he 
would  serve  him  in  the  same  manner.  The 
Star  Chamber  fined  him  ten  thousand  pounds 
for  speaking  so  disrespectfully  of  a  lord. 

By  these  and  similar  proceedings,  large  sums 
of  money  were  collected  by  the  Star  Chamber 
for  the  king's  treasury,  and  all  expression  of 
discontent  and  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of 
the  people  was  suppressed.     This  last  policy, 


108  KING    CHARLES    I. 

however,  the  su23pression  of  expressions  of  dis- 
satisfaction, is  always  a  very  dangerous  one  for 
any  government  to  undertake.  Discontent, 
silenced  by  force,  is  exasperated  and  extended. 
The  outward  signs  of  its  existence  disappear, 
but  its  inward  workings  become  wide-spread 
and  dangerous,  just  in  proportion  to  the 
weight  by  which  the  safety-valve  is  kept  down. 
Charles  and  his  court  of  the  Star  Chamber  re- 
joiced in  the  power  and  efficacy  of  their  tre- 
mendous tribunal.  They  issued  proclamations 
and  decrees,  and  governed  the  country  by 
means  of  them.  They  silenced  all  murmurs. 
But  they  were,  all  the  time,  disseminating 
through  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land  a  deep  and  inveterate  enmity  to  royalty, 
which  ended  in  a  revolution  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  decapitation  of  the  king.  They 
stopped  the  hissing  of  the  steam  for  the  time, 
but  caused  an  explosion  in  the  end. 

Charles  was  King  of  Scotland  as  well  as  of 
England.  The  two  countries  were,  however, 
as  countries,  distinct,  each  having  its  own  laws, 
its  own  administration,  and  its  own  separate 
dominions.  The  sovereign,  however,  was  the 
same.  A  king  could  inherit  two  kingdoms, 
just  as  a  man  can,  in  this  country,  inherit  two 
farms,  which  may,  nevertheless,  be  at  a  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  and  managed  separately. 
Kow,  although  Charles  had,  from  th^  de^th  of 


THE  KING  AND   HIS  PIIEROGATIV^E.      109 

hlfl  father,  exercised  sovereignty  over  the  realm 
of  Scotland,  he  had  not  been  crowned,  nor  had 
even  visited  Scotland.  The  people  of  Scotland 
felt  somewhat  neglected.  They  murmured 
that  their  common  monarch  gave  all  his  atten- 
tion to  the  sister  and  rival  kingdom.  They 
said  that  if  the  king  did  not  consider  the  Scot- 
tish crown  worth  coming  after,  they  might, 
perhaps,  look  out  for  some  other  way  of  dis- 
posing of  it. 

The  king,  accordingly,  in  1633,  began  to 
make  preparations  for  a  royal  progress  into 
Scotland.  He  first  issued  a  proclamation  re- 
quiring a  proper  supply  of  provisions  to  be  col- 
lected at  the  several  points  of  his  proposed 
route,  and  specified  the  route,  and  the  length 
of  stay  which  he  should  make  in  each  place, 
lie  set  out  on  the  13th  of  May  with  a  splendid 
retinue.  He  stopped  at  the  seats  of  several  of 
the  nobility  on  the  way,  to  enjoy  the  hospitali- 
ties and  entertainments  which  they  had  pre- 
pared for  him.  He  proceeded  so  slowly  that  it 
was  a  month  before  he  reached  the  frontier. 
Here  all  his  English  servants  and  retinue  retired 
from  their  posts,  and  their  places  were  supplied 
by  Scotchmen  who  had  been  previously  appoint- 
ed, and  who  were  awaiting  his  arrival.  He  en- 
tered Edinburgh  with  great  pomp  and  parade, 
all  Scotland  flocking  to  the  capital  to  witness 
the   festivities.     The   coronation   took    place 


no 


KING   CHAKLES   I. 


three  days  afterwards.  He  met  the  Scotch 
Parliament,  and,  for  form's  sake,  took  a  part 
in  the  proceedings  so  as  actually  to  exercise 
his  royal  authority  as  King  of  Scotland.  This 
being  over,  he  was  conducted  in  great  state 
back  to  Berwick,  which  is  on  the  frontier,  and 
thence  he  returned  by  rapid  journeys  to 
London. 

The  king  dissolved  his  last  Parliament  in 
1629.  He  had  now  been  endeavoring  for  four 
or  five  years  to  govern  alone.  He  succeeded 
tolerably  well,  so  far  as  external  appearances 
indicated,  up  to  this  time.  There  was,  how- 
ever, beneath  the  surface,  a  deep-sea+ed  discon- 
tent, which  was  constantly  widening  and  ex- 
tending, and,  soon  after  the  return  of  the  king 
from  Scotland,  real  difficulties  gradually  arose, 
by  which  he  was,  in  the  end,  compelled  to  call 
a  Parliament  again.  What  these  difficulties 
were  will  be  explained  in  the  subsequent  chap- 
ters. 


|tili|iii'J:,m|i:||-i:liil;*lll:.;i!i;': 


i-.h  I  Ml 


H     1 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ARCHBISHOP  LAUD. 


In  getting  so  deeply  involved  in  difficulties 
with  his  people,  King  Charles  did  not  act  alone. 
He  had,  as  we  have  already  explained,  a  great 
deal  of  help.  There  were  many  men  of  intel- 
ligence and  rank  who  entertained  the  same 
opinions  that  he  did  or  who  were,  at  least, 
willing  to  adopt  them  for  the  sake  of  office  and 
power.  These  men  he  drew  around  him.  He 
gave  them  office  and  power,  and  they  joined 
him  in  the  efforts  he  made  to  defend  and  en- 
large the  royal  prerogative,  and  to  carry  on  the 
government  by  the  exercise  of  it.  One  of  the 
most  prominent  and  distinguished  of  these 
men  was  Laud. 

The  reader  must  understand  that  the  Church 
in  England,  is  very  different  from  anything 
that  exists  under  the  same  name  in  this  coun- 
try. Its  bishops  and  clergy  are  supported  by 
revenues  derived  from  a  vast  amount  of  prop- 
erty which  belongs  to  the  Church  itself.     This 

property  is  entirely  independent  of  all  control 

111 


112  KING   CHARLES   I. 

by  the  people  of  the  parishes.  The  clergyman, 
as  soon  as  he  is  appointed,  comes  into  posses- 
sion of  it  in  his  own  right ;  and  he  is  not  ap- 
pointed by  the  people,  but  by  some  nobleman 
or  high  officer  of  state,  who  has  inherited  the 
right  to  appoint  the  clergyman  of  that  particu- 
lar parish.  There  are  bishops,  also,  who  have 
very  large  revenues,  likewise  independent ;  and 
over  these  bishops  is  one  great  dignitary,  who 
presides  in  lofty  state  over  the  whole  system. 
This  officer  is  called  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury. There  is  one  other  archbishop,  called 
the  Archbishop  of  York  ;  but  his  realm  is  much 
more  limited  and  less  important.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  is  styled  the  Lord  Pri- 
mate of  all  England.  His  rank  is  above  that 
of  all  the  peers  of  the  realm.  He  crowns  the 
kings.  He  has  two  magnificent  palaces,  one 
at  Canterbury  and  one  at  London,  for  his  resi- 
dences, and  has  very  large  revenues  to  maintain 
a  style  of  living  in  accordance  with  his  rank. 
He  has  the  superintendence  of  all  the  affairs  of 
the  Church  for  the  whole  realm,  except  a  small 
portion  pertaining  to  the  archbishopric  of  York. 
His  palace  in  London  is  on  the  bank  of  the 
Thames,  opposite  Westminster.  It  is  called 
Lambeth  Palace. 

The  city  of  Canterbury,  which  is  the  chief 
seat  of  his  dominion,  is  southeast  of  London,  not 
very  far  from  the  sea.    The  Cathedral  is  there. 


AKCHBISHOP  LAUD.  113 

which  is  the  archbishop's  church.  It  is  more 
tlian  five  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  the  tower 
is  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  Tlie 
magnificence  of  the  architecture  and  the  dec- 
orations of  the  building  correspond  with  its 
size.  There  is  a  large  company  of  clergymen 
and  other  officers  attached  to  the  service  of 
the  Cathedral.  They  are  more  than  a  hundred  in 
number.     The  palace  of  the  archbishop  is  near. 

The  Church  was  thus,  in  the  days  of  Charles, 
a  complete  realm  of  itself,  with  its  own  prop- 
erty, its  own  laws,  its  own  legislature,  and 
courts,  and  judges,  its  own  capital,  and  its  own 
monarch.  It  was  entirely  independent  of  the 
mass  of  the  people  in  all  these  respects,  as  all 
these  things  were  entirely  controlled  by  the 
bishops  and  clergy,  and  the  clergy  were  gener- 
ally appointed  by  the  noblemen,  and  the  bish- 
ops by  the  king.  This  made  the  system  almost 
entirely  independent  of  the  community  at 
large  ;  and  as  there  was  organized  under  it  a  vast 
amount  of  wealth,  and  influence,  and  power, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  presided 
over  the  whole,  was  as  great  in  authority  as  he 
was  in  rank  and  honor.  Xow  Laud  was  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury. 

King  Charles  had  made  him  so.  He  had  ob- 
served that  Laud,  who  hud  been  advanced  to 
some  high  stations  in  the  Church  by  his  father. 
King  James,  was  desirous  to  enlarge  and 
3 


114  KING   CHARLES  I. 

Strengthen  the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  the 
Church,  just  as  he  himself  was  endeavoring  to 
do  in  respect  to  those  of  the  throne.  He  ac- 
cordingly promoted  him  from  one  post  of  influ- 
ence and  honor  to  another,  until  he  made  him 
at  last  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Thus  he 
was  placed  upon  the  summit  of  ecclesiastical 
grandeur  and  power. 

He  commenced  his  work,  however,  of 
strengthening  and  aggrandizing  the  Church, 
before  he  was  appointed  to  this  high  office. 
He  was  Bishop  of  London  for  many  years,  which 
is  a  post,  in  some  respects,  second  only  to  that 
of  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  While  in  this 
station,  he  was  appointed  by  the  king  to  many 
high  civil  offices.  He  had  great  capacity  for 
the  transaction  of  business,  and  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  high  trusts,  whether  of  Church  cr 
state.  He  was  a  man  of  great  integrity  and 
moral  worth.  He  was  stern  and  severe  in 
manners,  but  learned  and  accomplished.  His 
whole  soul  was  bent  on  what  he  undoubtedly 
considered  the  great  duty  of  his  life,  support- 
ing and  confirming  the  authority  of  the  king, 
and  the  power  and  influence  of  English  Epis- 
copacy. Notwithstanding  his  high  qualifica- 
tions, however,  many  persons  were  jealous  of 
the  Influence  which  he  possessed  with  the  king, 
and  murmured  against  the  appointment  of  a 
churchman  to  such  high  offices  of  state. 


CkarU$  I./aeef.  it  A 

Dr.  Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


\  .         ; 

ARCHBISHOP   LAUD.  115 

There  was  another  source  of  hostility  to 
Laud.  There  was  a  hirge  part  of  the  people  of 
Eugland  who  were  against  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land altogether.  They  did  not  like  a  system 
in  which  all  power  and  influence  came,  as  it 
were,  from  above  downward.  The  king  made 
the  noblemen,  the  noblemen  made  the  bishops, 
the  bishops  made  the  clergy,  and  the  clergy 
ruled  their  flocks  ;  the  flocks  themselves  having 
nothing  to  say  or  do  but  to  submit.  It  is  very 
different  with  Episcopacy  in  this  country. 
The  people  here  choose  the  clergy,  and  the 
clergy  choose  the  bishops,  so  that  power  in 
the  Church,  as  in  everything  else  here,  goes 
from  below  upward.  The  two  systems,  when 
at  rest,  look  very  similar  in  the  two  countries ; 
but  when  in  action,  the  current  of  life  flows  in 
contrary  directions,  making  the  two  diametri- 
cally opposite  to  each  other  in  spirit  and  power. 
In  England,  Episcopacy  is  an  engine  by  which 
the  people  are  ecclesiastically  governed.  Here, 
it  is  the  machinery  by  which  they  govern. 
Whatever  the  forms  are,  the  fact  must  be  that 
the  people  govern  here. 

Now  in  England  there  was  a  large  and  in-^ 
creasing  party  who  hated  and  opposed  the 
whole  Episcopal  system.  Laud,  to  counteract 
this  tendency,  attempted  to  define,  and  enlarge, 
and  extend  that  system  as  far  as  possible.  He 
made  the  most  of  all  the  ceremonies  of  wor- 


116  KING    CHARLES   I. 

ship,  and  introduced  others,  which  were, 
indeed,  not  exactly  new,  hut  rather  ancient  ones 
revived.  He  did  this  conscientiously,  no  douh^. 
thinking  that  these  forms  of  devotion  were 
adapted  to  impress  the  soul  of  the  worshiper, 
and  lead  him  to  feel,  in  his  heart,  the  reverence 
v/hich  his  outward  action  expressed.  Many  of 
the  people,  however,  bitterly  opposed  these 
things.  They  considered  it  a  return  to  popery. 
The  more  that  Laud,  and  those  who  acted  with 
him,  attempted  to  magnify  the  rites  and  the 
powers  of  the  Church,the  more  these  persons 
began  to  abhor  everything  of  the  kind.  They 
wanted  Christianity  itself,  in  its  purity,  un- 
contaminated,  as  they  said,  by  these  popish 
and  idolatrous  forms.  They  were  called  Puri- 
tans. 

There  were  a  great  many  things  which  seem 
to  us  at  the  present  day  of  very  little  conse- 
quence, which  were  then  the  subjects  of  end- 
less disputes  and  of  the  most  bitter  animosity. 
For  instance,  one  point  was  whether  the  place 
where  the  communion  was  to  be  administered 
should  be  called  the  communion  table  or  the 
altar ;  and  in  what  part  of  the  church  it  should 
stand;  and  whether  the  person  officiating 
should  be  called  a  priest  or  a  clergyman  ;  and 
whether  he  should  wear  one  kind  of  dress  or 
another.  Great  importance  was  attached  to 
these  things ;  but  it  was  not  on  their  own  ac« 


ARCHBISHOP   LAUD.  117 

count,  but  on  account  of  their  bearing  on  the 
question  whether  the  Lord's  Supper  was  to  bo 
considered  only  a  ceremony  commemorative  of 
Christ's  deutli,  or  whether  it  was,  whenever 
celebrated  by  a  regularly  authorized  priest,  a 
r<  ul  renewal  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  as  the 
Cv  tholics  maintained.  Calling  the  communion 
table  an  altar,  and  the  officiating  minister  a 
priest,  and  clothing  him  in  a  sacerdotal  garb, 
countenanced  the  idea  of  a  renewal  of  the  sac- 
rifice of  Christ.  Laud  and  his  coadjutors  urged 
the  adoption  of  all  these  and  similar  usages. 
The  Puritans  detested  them,  because  they  de- 
tested and  abhorred  the  doctrine  which  they 
seemed  to  imply. 

Another  great  topic  of  controversy  was  the 
subject  of  amusements.  It  is  a  very  singular 
circumstance,  that  in  those  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church  where  rites  and  forms  are 
most  insisted  upon,  the  greatest  latitude  is 
allowed  in  respect  to  the  gaieties  and  amuse- 
ments of  social  life.  Catholic  Paris  is  filled 
with  theaters  and  dancing,  and  the  Sabbath  is 
a  lioliday.  In  London,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
number  of  theaters  is  small,  dancing  is  con- 
sidered as  an  amusement  of  a  more  or  less 
equivocal  character,  and  the  Sabbath  is  rigidly 
observed  ;  and  among  all  the  simple  Demo- 
cratic churches  of  New  England,  to  dance  or 
to  attend  the    theater  is  considered  almost 


118  KING   CHARLES  I. 

morally  wrong.  It  was  just  so  in  the  days  of 
Laud.  He  wished  to  encourage  amusements 
among  the  people,  particularly  on  Sunday, 
after  church.  This  was  partly  for  the  purpose 
of  counteracting  the  efforts  of  those  who  were 
inclined  to  Puritan  views.  They  attached 
great  importance  to  their  sermons  and  lectures, 
for  in  them  they  could  address  and  influence 
the  people.  But  by  means  of  these  addresses, 
as  Laud  thought,  they  put  ideas  of  insubordi- 
nation into  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  en- 
croached on  the  authority  of  the  Churcli  and 
of  the  king.  To  prevent  this,  the  High- 
Church  party  wished  to  exalt  the  prayers  in 
the  Churcli  service,  and  to  give  as  little  place 
and  influence  as  possible  to  the  sermon,  and 
to  draw  off  the  attention  of  the  people  from 
the  discussions  and  exhortations  of  the  preach- 
ers by  encouraging  games,  dances,  and  amuse- 
ments of  all  kinds. 

The  judges  in  one  of  the  counties,  at  a  regu- 
lar court  held  by  them,  once  passed  an  order 
forbidding  certain  revels  and  carousals  con- 
nected with  the  Church  service,  on  account  of 
the  immoralities  and  disorders,  as  they  alleged^ 
to  which  they  gave  rise  ;  and  they  ordered  that 
public  notice  to  this  effect  should  be  given  by 
the  bishop.  The  archbishop  (Laud)  considered 
this  an  interference  on  the  part  of  the  civil 
magistrates  with  the  powers  and  prerogatives 


ARCHBISHOP   LAUD.  119 

of  the  Church.  lie  had  the  judges  brought 
before  the  council,  and  censured  there ;  and 
they  were  required  by  the  council  to  revoke 
their  order  at  the  next  court.  The  judges  did 
so,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  they  did 
it  simply  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  the 
king's  council.  The  people,  or  at  least  all  of 
them  who  were  inclined  to  Puritan  views,  sided 
with  the  judges,  and  were  more  strict  in  ab- 
staining from  all  such  amusements  on  Sunday 
than  ever.  This,  of  course,  made  those  who 
were  on  the  side  of  Laud  more  determined  to 
promote  these  gaieties.  Thus,  as  neither  party 
pursued,  in  the  least  degree,  a  generous  or 
conciliatory  course  toward  the  other,  the  differ- 
ence between  them  widened  more  and  more. 
The  people  of  the  country  were  fast  becoming 
either  bigoted  High-Churchmen  or  fanatical 
Puritans. 

Laud  employed  the  power  of  the  Star  Cham- 
ber a  great  deal  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purpose  of  enforcing  entire  submission  to  the 
ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  Church.  He 
even  had  persons  sometimes  punished  very 
severely  for  words  of  disrespect,  or  for  writings 
in  which  they  censured  what  they  considered 
the  tyranny  under  which  they  suffered.  This 
severe  punishment  for  the  mere  expression  of 
opinion  only  served  to  fix  the  opinion  more 
firmly,  ^nd  disseminate  it  more  widely.    Some- 


120  KING   CHARLES  I. 

times  men  would  glory  in  their  sufferings  for 
this  cause,  and  bid  the  authorities  defiance. 

One  man,  for  instance,  named  Lilburne,  was 
brought  before  the  Star  Chamber,  charged 
with  publishing  seditious  pamphlets.  Kow,  in 
all  ordinary  courts  of  justice,  no  man  is  called 
upon  to  say  anything  against  himself.  Unless 
his  crime  can  be  proved  by  the  testimony  of 
others,  it  cannot  be  proved  at  all.  But  in  the 
Star  Chamber,  whoever  was  brought  to  trial 
had  to  take  an  oath  at  first  that  he  would  an- 
swer all  questions  asked,  even  if  they  tended  to 
criminate  himself.  When  they  proposed  this 
oath  to  Lilburne,  he  refused  to  take  it.  They 
decided  that  this  was  contempt  of  court,  and 
sentenced  him  to  be  whipped,  put  in  the  pil- 
lory, and  imprisoned.  While  they  were  whip- 
ping him,  he  spent  the  time  in  making  a 
speech  to  the  spectators  against  the  tyranny  of 
bishops,  referring  to  Laud,  whom  he  considered 
as  the  author  of  these  proceedings.  He  con- 
tinued to  do  the  same  while  in  the  pillory.  As 
he  passed  along,  too,  he  distributed  copies  of 
the  pamphlets  which  he  was  prosecuted  for 
writing.  The  Star  Chamber,  hearing  that  he 
was  haranguing  the  mob,  ordered  him  to  be 
gagged.  This  did  not  subdue  him.  He  began 
to  stamp  with  his  foot  and  gesticulate  ;  thus 
continuing  to  express  his  indomitable  spirit  of 
hostility  to   the   tyranny  which  he  opposed. 


ARCHBISHOP  LAUD.  121 

Tliis  single  case  would  be  of  no  great  conse- 
quence alone,  but  it  was  not  alone.  The  at- 
tempt to  put  Lilburne  down  was  a  symbol  of 
tlie  experiment  of  coercion  which  Charles  in 
the  state,  and  Laud  in  the  Church,  were  trying 
upon  the  whole  nation  ;  it  was  a  symbol  both 
in  respect  to  the  means  employed,  and  to  the 
success  attained  by  them. 

One  curious  case  is  related,  which  turned 
out  more  fortunately  than  usual  for  the  parties 
accused.  Some  young  lawyers  in  London  were 
drinking  at  an  evening  entertainment,  and 
among  other  toasts  they  drank  confusion  to  the 
Arclibisliop  of  Canterbury.  One  of  the  wait- 
ers, wlio  heard  them,  mentioned  the  circum- 
stance, and  they  were  brought  before  the  Star 
Cliumber.  Ik^fore  their  trial  came  on,  tliey 
applied  to  a  certain  noblenum  to  know  what 
they  should  do.  **  AVhere  was  the  Avaiter," 
asked  the  nobleman,  ''when  you  drank  the 
toast?"  *^At  the  door."  ''Oh!  very  well, 
then,"  said  he ;  **  tell  the  court  that  he  only 
heard  a  part  of  the  toast,  as  he  was  going  out ; 
and  that  the  words  really  were,  '  Confusion  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury's  enemies.'" 
By  this  ingenious  plea,  and  by  means  of  a 
great  appearance  of  humility  and  deference  in 
the  presence  of  the  archbishop,  the  lawyers 
escaped  with  a  reprimand. 

Laud  was  not  content  with  establishing  and 


122  KING   CHARLES    I. 

confirming  throughout  all  England  the  author- 
ity of  the  Church,  hut  he  wanted  to  extend  the 
same  system  to  Scotland.  When  King  Charles 
went  to  Scotland  to  be  crowned,  he  took  Laud 
with  him.  He  was  pleased  with  Laud's  en- 
deavors to  enlarge  and  confirm  the  powers  of 
the  Church,  and  wished  to  aid  him  in  the  work. 
There  were  two  reasons  for  this.  One  was, 
that  the  same  class  of  men,  the  Puritans,  were 
the  natural  enemies  of  both,  so  that  the  king 
and  the  archbishop  were  drawn  together  by 
having  one  common  foe.  Then,  as  the  places 
in  the  Church  were  not  hereditary,  but  were 
filled  by  appointments  from  the  king  and  the 
great  nobles,  whatever  power  the  Church  could 
get  into  its  hands  could  be  employed  by  the 
king  to  strengthen  his  own  authority,  and  keep 
his  subjects  in  subjection. 

We  must  not,  however,  censure  the  king  and 
his  advisers  too  strongly  for  this  plan.  The;y 
doubtless  were  ambitious  ;  they  loved  power  ; 
they  wanted  to  bear  sway,  unresisted  and  un- 
questioned, over  the  whole  realm.  But  then 
the  king  probably  thought  that  the  exercise  of 
such  a  government  was  necessary  for  the  ordei 
and  prosperity  of  the  realm,  besides  being  his 
inherent  and  indefeasible  right.  Good  and  bad 
motives  were  doubtless  mingled  here,  as  in  all 
human  action  ;  but  then  the  king  was,  in  the 
main,  doing  what  he  supposed  it  was  his  du  ty 


ARCHBISHOP  LAUD.  123 

to  do.  In  proposing,  therefore,  to  build  up 
the  Church  in  Scotland,  and  to  make  it  conform 
to  the  English  Church  in  its  rites  and  cere- 
monies, he  and  Laud  doubtless  supposed  that 
they  were  going  greatly  to  improve  the  govern- 
ment of  the  sister  kingdom. 

There  was  in  those  days,  as  now,  in  the  Eng- 
lish Church,  a  certain  prescribed  course  of 
prayers,  and  psalms,  and  Scripture  readings, 
for  each  day,  to  be  read  from  a  book  by  the 
minister.  This  was  called  the  Liturgy.  The 
Puritans  did  not  like  a  liturgy.  It  tied  men 
up,  and  did  not  leave  the  individual  mind  of 
the  preacher  at  liberty  to  range  freely,  as  they 
wished  it  to  do,  in  conducting  the  devotional 
services.  It  was  on  this  very  account  that  the 
friends  of  strong  government  did  like  it.  They 
wanted  to  curtail  this  liberty,  which,  however, 
they  called  license,  and  which  they  thought 
made  mischief.  In  extemporaneous  prayers, 
it  is  often  easy  to  see  that  the  speaker  is  aim- 
ing much  more  directly  at  producing  a  salutary 
effect  on  the  minds  of  his  hearers  than  at  sim- 
ply presenting  petitions  to  the  Supreme  Being. 
But,  notwithstanding  this  evil,  the  existence 
of  which  no  candid  man  can  deny,  the  enemies 
of  forms,  who  are  generally  friends  of  the 
largest  liberty,  think  it  best  to  leave  the  clergy 
man  free.  The  friends  of  forms,  however,  pre- 
fer forms  on  this  very  account.    They  like 


124  KING   CHARLES   I. 

what  they  consider  the  wholesome  and  salutary 
restraints  which  tliey  impose. 

Now  there  has  always  been  a  great  spirit  of 
freedom  in  the  Scottish  mind.  That  people 
have  ever  been  unwilling  to  submit  to  coercion 
or  restraints.  There  is  probably  no  race  of 
men  on  earth  that  would  make  worse  slaves 
than  the  Scotch.  Their  sturdy  independence 
and  determination  to  be  free  could  never  be 
subdued.  In  the  days  of  Charles  they  were 
particularly  fond  of  freely  exercising  their  own 
minds,  and  of  speaking  freely  to  others  on  the 
subject  of  religion.  They  thought  for  them- 
selves, sometimes  right  and  sometimes  wrong  ; 
but  they  would  think,  and  they  would  express 
thair  thoughts  ;  and  their  being  thus  unaccus- 
tomed, in  one  particular,  to  submit  to  restraints, 
rendered  them  more  difficult  to  be  governed 
in  others.  Laud  thought,  consequently,  that 
tliey,  particularly,  needed  a  Liturgy.  He  pre- 
pared one  for  them.  It  was  varied  somewhat 
from  the  English  Liturgy,  though  it  was  sub- 
stantially the  same.  The  king  proclaimed  it, 
and  required  the  bishops  to  see  that  it  was 
employed  in  all  the  churches  in  Scotland. 

The  day  for  introducing  the  Liturgy  w^as 
the  signal  for  riots  all  over  the  kingdom.  In 
the  principal  church  in  Edinburgh  they  called 
out  '^  A  pope  !  A  pope  !  "  when  the  clergyman 
came  in  witli  his  book  and  his  pontifical  robos. 


ARCHBISHOP   LAUD.  125 

Tlie  bishop  jisoended  the  pulpit  to  address  the 
people  to  appease  them,  and  a  stool  came  flying 
through  the  air  at  his  head.  The  police  then 
expelled  the  congregation,  and  the  clergyman 
went  through  with  the  service  of  the  Liturgy 
in  the  empty  church,  the  congregation  outside, 
in  great  tumult,  accompanying  the  exercises 
with  cries  of  disapprobation  and  resentment, 
and  with  volleys  of  stones  against  the  doors  and 
windows. 

The  Scotch  sent  a  sort  of  ambassador  to 
London  to  represent  to  the  king  that  the  hos- 
tility to  the  Liturgy  was  so  universal  and  so 
strong  that  it  could  not  be  enforced.  But  the 
king  and  his  council  had  the  same  conscien- 
tious scruples  about  giving  up  in  a  contest  with 
subjects,  that  a  teacher  or  a  parent,  in  our  day, 
would  feel  in  the  case  of  resistance  from  chil- 
dren or  scholars.  The  king  sent  down  a  proc- 
lamation that  the  observance  of  the  Liturgy 
must  be  insisted  on.  The  Scotch  i)reparcd  to 
resist.  They  sent  delegates  to  Edinburgh,  and 
organized  a  sort  of  government.  They  raised 
armies.  They  took  possession  of  the  king's 
cjistles.  They  made  a  solemn  covenant,  bind- 
ing themselves  to  insist  on  religious  freedom. 
In  a  word,  all  Scotland  was  in  rebellion. 

It  was  the  custom  in  those  days  to  have,  con- 
nected with  the  court,  some  half-witted  per- 
son, who  used  to  be  fantastically  dressed,  and 


126  KING  CHAELES  I. 

to  have  groat  liberty  of  speech,  and  whose  prov- 
ince was  to  amuse  the  courtiers.  He  was 
called  the  king's  jester,  or,  more  commonly, 
the  fool.  The  name  of  King  Charles's  fool 
was  Arcliy.  After  this  rebellion  broke  out, 
and  all  England  was  aghast  at  the  extent  of 
the  mischief  which  Laud's  Liturgy  had  done, 
the  fool,  seeing  the  archbishop  go  by  one  day, 
called  out  to  him,  *'  My  lord  !  who  is  the  fool 
now  ? "  The  archbishop,  as  if  to  leave  no 
possible  doubt  in  respect  to  the  proper  answer 
to  the  question,  had  poor  iVrchy  tried  and 
punished.  His  sentence  was  to  have  his  coat 
pulled  up  over  his  head,  and  to  be  dismissed 
from  the  king's  service.  Had  the  arclibishop 
let  it  pass,  it  would  have  ended  with  a  laugh 
in  the  street ;  but  by  resenting  it,  he  gave  it 
notoriety,  caused  it  to  be  recorded,  and  has 
perpetuated  the  memory  of  the  Jest  to  all 
future  times.  He  ought  to  have  joined  in  the 
laugh,  and  rewarded  Archy  on  the  spot  for  so 
good  a  witticism. 

The  Scotch,  besides  organizing  a  sort  of  civil 
government,  took  measures  for  summoning  a 
general  assembly  of  their  Church.  This  as- 
sembly met  at  Glasgow.  The  nobility  and 
gentry  flocked  to  Glasgow  at  the  time  of  the 
meeting,  to  encourage  and  sustain  the  assem- 
bly, and  to  manifest  their  interest  in  the  pro- 
ceedings.   The  assembly  very  deliberately  went 


ARCHBISHOP   LAUD.  127 

to  work,  and,  not  content  with  taking  a  stand 
against  the  Liturgy  which  Charles  had  im- 
posed, they  abolished  the  fabric  of  Episcoi)acy 
- — that  is,  the  government  of  bishops — alto- 
gether. Thus  Laud's  attempt  to  perfect  and 
confirm  the  system  resulted  in  expelling  it 
completely  from  the  kingdom.  It  has  never 
lield  up  its  head  in  Scotland  since.  They  es- 
tablished Presbyterianism  in  its  place,  which  is 
a  sort  of  republican  system,  the  pastors  being 
all  officially  equal  to  each  other,  though  banded 
together  under  a  common  government  ad- 
ministered by  themselves. 

The  king  was  determined  to  put  down  this 
rebellion  at  all  hazards.  lie  had  made  such 
good  use  of  the  various  irregular  modes  of  rais- 
ing money  which  have  been  already  described, 
and  had  been  so  economical  in  the  use  of  it, 
that  he  had  now  quite  a  sum  of  money  in  his 
treasury  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  attempt 
to  enforce  the  unfortunate  Liturgy  upon  the 
people  of  Scotland,  he  might,  perhaps,  have 
gone  on  reigning  without  a  Parliament  to  the 
end  of  his  days.  He  had  now  about  two  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds,  by  means  of  which,  to- 
getlier  with  what  he  could  borrow,  he  hoped  to 
make  one  single  demonstration  of  force  which 
would  bring  the  rebellion  to  an  end.  He  raised 
an  army  and  equipped  a  fleet.  He  issued  a 
proclamation  summoning  all  the  peers  of  tho 


128  KING   CHARLES   I. 

realm  to  attend  him.  He  moved  with  this 
great  concourse  from  London  toward  the  north, 
the  whole  country  looking  on  as  spectators  to 
behold  the  progress  of  this  great  expedition, 
by  which  their  monarch  was  going  to  attempt 
to  subdue  again  his  other  kingdom. 

Charles  advanced  to  the  city  of  York,  the 
great  city  of  the  north  of  England.  Here  he 
paused  and  established  his  court,  with  all  pos- 
sible pomp  and  parade.  His  design  was  to  im- 
press the  Scots  with  such  an  idea  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  power  which  was  going  to  over- 
whelm them  as  to  cause  them  to  submit  at 
once.  But  all  this  show  was  very  hollow  and 
delusive.  The  army  felt  a  greater  sympathy 
with  the  Scots  than  they  did  with  the  king. 
The  complaints  against  Charles's  government 
were  pretty  much  the  same  in  both  countries. 
A  great  many  Scotchmen  came  to  York  while 
the  king  was  there,  and  the  people  from  all  the 
country  round  flocked  thither  too,  drawn  by  the 
gay  spectacles  connected  with  the  presence  of 
such  a  court  and  army.  The  Scotchmen  dis- 
seminated their  complaints  thus  among  the 
English  people,  and  finally  the  king  and  his 
council,  finding  indications  of  so  extensive  a 
disaffection,  had  a  form  of  an  oath  prepared, 
which  they  required  all  the  principal  persons 
to  take,  acknowledging  allegiance  to  Charles, 
and  renouncing  their  having  any  intelligence 


ARCRBISHOP    LAUD.  129 

or  correspondence  with  the  enemy.  The 
Scotchmen  all  took  the  oath  very  readily, 
though  some  of  the  English  refused. 

At  any  rate,  the  state  of  things  was  not  such 
as  to  intimidate  the  Scotch,  and  lead  them,  as 
the  king  liad  hoped,  to  sue  for  peace.  So  he 
concluded  to  move  on  towards  the  borders. 
He  went  to  Newcastle,  and  thence  to  Berwick. 
From  Berwick  he  moved  along  the  banks  of  the 
Tweed,  which  here  forms  the  boundary  between 
the  two  kingdoms,  and,  finding  a  suitable  place 
for  such  a  purpose,  the  king  had  his  royal  tent 
pitched,  and  liis  army  encamped,  around  him. 

Xow,  as  King  Charles  had  undertaken  to 
subdue  the  Scots  by  a  show  of  force,  it  seems 
tliey  concluded  to  defend  themselves  by  a 
show  too,  though  theirs  was  a  cheajier  and 
more  simple  contrivance  than  his.  Tliey  ad- 
vanced, with  about  three  thousand  men  to  a 
place  distant  perhaps  seven  miles  from  the 
English  camp.  The  king  sent  an  army  of  five 
thousand  men  to  attack  them.  The  Scotch, 
in  the  mean  time,  collected  great  herds  of  cat- 
tle from  all  the  country  around,  as  the  histori- 
ans say,  and  arranged  them  behind  their  little 
army  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  whole  appear 
a  vast  body  of  soldiers.  A  troop  of  horsemen, 
who  were  the  advanced  part  of  the  English 
army,  came  in  sight  of  this  formidable  host 
first,  and,   finding  their    numbers  so  much 

LO— t'li»rle«  r. 


130  KING   CHARLES  T. 

greater  than  they  had  anticipated,  they  fell 
back,  and  ordered  the  artillery  and  foot-soldiers 
who  were  coming  up  to  retreat,  and  all  to- 
gether came  back  to  the  encampment.  There 
were  two  or  three  military  enterprises  of  similar 
character,  in  which  nothing  was  done  but  to 
encourage  the  Scotch  and  dishearten  the 
English.  In  fact,  neither  officers,  soldiers, 
nor  king  wanted  to  proceed  to  extremities. 
The  officers  and  soldiers  did  not  wish  to  fight 
the  Scotch,  and  the  king,  knowing  the  state 
of  his  army,  did  not  really  dare  to  do  it. 

Finally,  all  the  king's  council  advised  him 
to  give  up  the  pretended  contest,  and  to  settle 
the  difficulty  by  a  compromise.  Accordingly, 
in  June,  negotiations  were  commenced,  and 
before  the  end  of  the  month  articles  were 
signed.  The  king  probably  made  the  best 
terms  he  could,  but  it  was  universally  con- 
sidered that  the  Scots  gained  the  victory. 
The  king  disbanded  his  army,  and  returned  to 
London.  The  Scotch  leaders  went  back  to 
Edinburgh.  Soon  after  this  the  Parliament 
and  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  con- 
vened, and  these  bodies  took  the  whole 
management  of  the  realm  into  their  own  hands. 
They  sent  commissioners  to  London  to  see  and 
confer  with  the  king,  and  these  commissioners 
seemed  almost  to  assume  the  character  of  am- 
bassadors from  a  foreign  state.     These  negoti- 


ARCHBISHOP  LAUD. 


131 


fttions,  and  the  course  which  affairs  were  tak- 
ing in  Scothmd,  soon  led  to  new  difficulties. 
Tlie  king  found  that  he  was  losing  his  kingdom 
of  Scotland  altogether.  It  seemed,  however, 
as  if  there  was  nothing  that  he  could  do  to  re- 
gain it.      His  reserved  funds  were  gone,  and 


Charles  I.  and  his  Council. 
his  credit  was  exhausted.  There  was  no 
resource  left  but  to  call  a  Parliament  and  ask 
for  supplies.  He  might  have  known,  however, 
that  this  would  be  useless,  for  there  was  so  strong 
a  fellow-feeling  with  the  Scotch  in  their  al- 
leged grievances  among  the  people  of  England, 
that  he  could  not  reasonably  expect  any  re- 
sponse from  the  latter,  in  whatever  way  he 
might  appeal  to  them* 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  EARL  OF  STRAFFORD. 

During  the  time  that  the  king  had  been 
engaged  in  the  attempt  to  govern  England 
without  Parliaments,  he  had,  besides  Laud,  a 
very  efficient  co-operator,  known  in  English 
history  by  the  name  of  the  Earl  of  Strafford. 
This  title  of  Earl  of  Strafford  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  king  as  a  reward  for  his  ser- 
vices. His  father's  name  was  Wentworth. 
He  was  born  in  London,  and  the  Cliristian 
name  given  to  him  was  Thomas.  He  was 
educated  at  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and 
was  much  distinguished  for  his  talents  and  his 
personal  accomplishments.  After  finishing 
his  education,  he  traveled  for  some  time  on 
the  Continent,  visiting  foreign  cities  and  courts, 
and  studying  the  languages,  manners,  and 
customs  of  other  nations.  He  returned  at 
length  to  England.  He  was  made  a  knight. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  about  twenty-one, 
and  left  him  a  large  fortune.  He  was  about 
seven  years  older  than  King  Charles,  so  that 

all  those  circumstances  took  place  before  the 
132 


THE  EARL   OF   STRAFFORD.  133 

commencement  of  Charles's  reign.  For  many 
years  after  this  he  was  very  extensively  known 
in  England  as  a  gentleman  of  large  fortune 
and  great  abilities,  by  the  name  of  Sir  Thomas 
Went  worth. 

Sir  Thomas  Wentworth  was  a  member  of 
Parliament  in  those  days,  and  in  the  contests 
between  the  King  and  the  Parliament  he  took 
the  side  of  Parliament.  Charles  used  to  main- 
tain that  hu  power  alone  was  hereditary  and 
sovereign ;  that  the  Parliament  was  his  coun- 
cil ;  and  that  they  had  no  powers  or  privileges 
except  what  he  himself  or  his  ancestors  had 
granted  and  allowed  them.  Wentworth  took 
rery  strong  ground  against  this.  He  urged 
Parliament  to  maintain  that  their  rights  and 
privileges  were  inherent  and  hereditary  as  well 
as  those  of  the  king  ;  that  such  powers  as  they 
possessed  were  their  own,  and  were  entirely 
independent  of  royal  grant  or  permission  ;  and 
that  the  king  could  no  more  encroach  upon 
the  privileges  of  Parliament,  than  Parliament 
upon  the  prerogatives  of  the  king.  This  was 
in  the  beginning  of  the  difficulties  between  the 
king  and  tho  Commons. 

It  will,  perhaps,  be  recollected  by  the  reader 
that  one  of  the  plans  which  Charles  adopted 
to  weaken  the  opposition  to  him  in  Parlia- 
ment was  by  appointing  six  of  tho  leaders  of 
this  opposition  to  the  office  of  sheriff  in  their 


134  KING  CHARLES  I. 

several  counties.  And  as  the  general  theory 
of  all  monarchies  is  that  the  subjects  are  bound 
to  obey  and  serve  the  king,  these  men  were 
obliged  to  leave  their  seats  in  Parliament  and 
go  home,  to  serve  as  sheriffs.  Charges  and  his 
council  supposed  that  the  rest  would  be  more 
quiet  and  submissive  when  the  leaders  of  the 
party  opposed  to  him  were  taken  away.  But 
the  effect  was  the  reverse.  The  Commons 
were  incensed  at  such  a  mode  of  interfering 
with  their  action,  and  became  more  hostile  to 
the  royal  power  than  ever. 

Wentworth  himself,  too,  was  made  more  de- 
termined in  his  opposition  by  this  treatment. 
A  short  time  after  this,  the  king's  plan  of  a 
forced  loan  was  adopted,  which  has  already 
been  described ;  that  is,  a  sum  of  money  was 
assessed  in  the  manner  of  a  tax  upon  all  the 
people  of  the  kingdom,  and  each  man  was  re- 
quired to  lend  his  proportion  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  king  admitted  that  he  had  no 
right  to  make  the  people  give  money  without 
the  action  of  Parliament,  but  claimed  the  right 
to  require  them  to  lend  it.  As  Sir  Thomas 
Wentworth  was  a  man  of  large  fortune,  his 
share  of  the  loan  was  considerable.  He  abso- 
lutely refused  to  pay  it.  The  king  had  him 
brought  before  a  court  which  was  entirely  under 
his  influence  and  he  was  condemned  to  be  im- 
prisoned.   Knowing,  however,  that  this  claim 


Char iM  I, /ace  p.  134 

Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  of  Strafford. 


THE  EARL   OF   STRAFFORD.  135 

on  the  part  of  the  king  was  very  doubtful,  they 
mitigated  his  confinement  by  allowing  him 
first  a  range  of  two  miles  around  his  place  of 
confinement,  and  afterward  they  released  him 
entirely. 

He  was  chosen  a  member  of  Parliament 
again,  and  he  returned  to  his  seat  more  pow- 
erful and  influential  than  ever.  Buckingham, 
who  had  been  his  greatest  enemy,  was  now 
dead,  and  the  king,  finding  that  he  had  great 
abilities  and  a  spirit  that  would  not  yield  to  in- 
timidation or  force,  concluded  to  try  kindness 
and  favors. 

In  fact  there  arc  two  different  modes  by 
which  sovereigns  in  all  ages  and  countries  en- 
deavor to  neutralize  the  opposition  of  popular 
leaders.  One  is  by  intimidating  them  with 
threats  and  punishments,  and  the  other  buy- 
ing them  off  with  appointments  and  honors. 
Some  of  the  king's  high  officers  of  state  be- 
gan to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  AVent- 
worth,  and  to  pay  him  attentions  and  civil- 
ities. He  could  not  but  feel  gratified  with 
these  indications  of  their  regard.  Tliey 
complimented  his  talents  and  his  powers, 
and  represented  to  him  that  such  abilities 
ought  to  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
state.  Finally,  the  king  conferred  upon  him 
the  title  of  baron.  Common  gratitude  for 
these  marks  of   distinction   and   honor  held 


136  KING   CHARLES    L 

him  back  from  any  violent  opposition  to  the 
king.  His  enemies  said  he  was  bought  oflE 
by  honors  and  rewards.  No  doubt  he  was 
ambitious,  and,  like  all  other  politicians,  his 
supreme  motive  was  love  of  consideration 
and  honor.  This  was  doubtless  his  motive 
in  what  he  had  done  in  behalf  of  the  Par- 
liament. But  all  that  he  could  do  as  a  popu- 
lar leader  in  Parliament  was  to  acquire  a 
general  ascendency  over  men's  minds,  and 
make  himself  a  subject  of  fame  and  honor. 
All  places  of  real  authority  were  exclusively 
under  the  king's  control,  and  he  could  only 
rise  to  such  stations  through  the  sovereign's 
favor.  In  a  word,  he  could  acquire  only  in- 
ftuence  as  a  leader  in  Parliament,  while  the 
king  could  give  him  power. 

Kings  have  always,  accordingly,  a  great  con- 
trol over  the  minds  of  legislators  by  oifering 
them  office ;  and  King  Charles,  after  finding 
that  his  first  advances  to  Wentworth  were 
favorably  received,  appointed  him  one  of 
his  Privy  Council.  Wentworth  accepted  the 
office.  His  former  friends  considered  that  in 
doing  this  he  was  deserting  them,  and  betray- 
ing the  cause  which  he  had  at  first  espoused 
and  defended.  The  country  at  large  were 
much  displeased  with  him,  finding  that  he  had 
forsaken  their  cause,  and  placed  himself  in  a 
position  to  act  against  them. 


THE  EARL  OF  STRAFFORD.  137 

Persons  who  change  sides  in  politics  or  in 
religion  are  very  apt  to  go  from  one  extreme  to 
another.  Their  former  friends  revile  them,  and 
they,  in  retaliation,  act  more  and  more  ener- 
getically against  them.  It  was  so  with  Straf- 
ford. He  gradually  engaged  more  and  more 
fully  and  earnestly  in  upholding  the  king. 
Finally,  the  king  appointed  him  to  a  very  high 
station,  called  the  Presidency  of  the  North. 
11  is  office  was  to  govern  the  whole  north  of  Eng- 
land— of  course,  under  the  direction  of  the 
king  and  council.  There  were  four  countries 
under  his  jurisdiction,  and  the  king  gave  him 
a  commission  which  clothed  him  with  enor- 
mous powers — powers  greater,  as  all  the  peo- 
ple thought,  than  the  king  had  any  right  to 
bestow. 

Strafford  proceeded  to  the  north,  and  entered 
upon  the  government  of  his  realm  there,  with 
a  determination  to  carry  out  all  the  king's 
plans  to  the  utmost.  From  being  an  ardent 
advocate  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  as  he  was 
at  the  commencement  of  his  career,  he  became 
a  most  determined  and  uncompromising  sup- 
porter of  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  king.  He 
insisted  on  the  collection  of  money  from  the 
people  in  all  the  ways  that  the  king  claimed 
the  power  to  collect  it  by  authority  of  his  pre- 
rogative ;  and  he  was  so  strict  and  exacting  in 
doing  this,  that  he  raised  the  revenue  to  four 


138  KING   CHAKLES    I. 

or  five  times  what  any  of  his  predecessors  had 
been  able  to  collect.  This,  of  course,  pleased 
King  Charles  and  his  government  extremely  ; 
for  it  was  at  a  time  during  which  the  king  was 
attempting  to  govern  without  a  Parliament, 
and  every  accession  to  his  funds  was  of  ex- 
treme importance.  Laud,  too,  the  archbishop, 
was  extremely  pleased  with  his  exertions  and 
his  success,  and  the  king  looked  upon  Laud 
and  AVentworth  as  the  two  most  efficient  sup- 
porters of  his  power.  They  were,  in  fact,  the 
two  most  efficient  promoters  of  his  destruction. 

Of  course,  the  people  of  the  north  hated  him. 
While  he  was  earning  the  applause  of  the  arch- 
bisliop  and  the  king,  and  entitling  himself  to 
new  honors  and  increased  power,  he  was  sow- 
ing the  seeds  of  the  bitterest  animosity  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  everywhere.  Still  he  en- 
joyed all  the  external  marks  of  consideration 
and  honor.  The  President  of  the  North  was  a 
sort  of  king.  He  was  clothed  with  great  pow- 
ers, and  lived  in  great  state  and  splendor.  He 
had  many  attendants,  and  the  great  nobles  of 
the  land,  who  generally  took  Charles's  side  in 
the  contests  of  tlie  day,  envied  Went  worth's 
greatness  and  power,  and  applauded  the  energy 
and  success  of  his  administration. 

Ireland  was,  at  this  time,  in  a  disturbed  and 
disordered  state,  and  Laud  proposed  that  AVent- 
worth should  be  appointed  by  the  king  to  the 


THE  EARL   OF   STRAFFORD.  139 

government  of  it.  A  great  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  were  Catholics,  and  were  very  little 
disposed  to  submit  to  Protestant  rule.  Went- 
wortli  was  appointed  lord  deputy,  and  after- 
ward lord  lieutenant,  which  made  him  king  of 
Ireland  in  all  but  the  name.  Everything,  of 
course,  was  done  in  the  name  of  Charles.  He 
carried  the  same  energy  into  his  government 
here  that  he  had  exhibited  in  the  north  of 
England.  lie  improved  the  condition  of  the 
country  astonishingly  in  respect  to  trade,  to 
revenue,  and  to  public  order.  But  he  governed 
in  the  most  arbitrary  manner,  and  he  boasted 
that  he  had  rendered  the  king  as  absolute  a 
sovereign  in  Ireland  as  any  prince  in  the  world 
could  be.  Such  a  boast  from  a  man  who  had 
once  been  a  very  prominent  defender  of  the 
rights  of  the  people  against  this  very  kind  of 
sovereignty,  was  fitted  to  produce  a  feeling  of 
universal  exasperation  and  desire  of  revenge. 
The  murmurs  and  muttered  threats  which 
filled  the  land,  though  suppressed,  were  very 
deep  and  very  strong. 

The  king,  however,  and  Laud,  considered 
"Wentworth  as  their  most  able  and  efficient  co- 
adjutor ;  and  when  the  difficulties  in  Scotland 
began  to  grow  serious,  they  recalled  him  from 
Ireland,  and  put  that  country  into  the  hands  of 
another  ruler.  The  king  then  advanced  him 
to  the  rank  of  an  earl.     His  title  was  the  Earl 


140  KING   CHARLES   I. 

of  Strafford.  As  the  subsequent  parts  of  his 
history  attracted  more  attention  than  those 
preceding  his  elevation  to  this  earldom,  he  has 
been  far  more  widely  known  among  mankind 
by  the  name  of  Strafford  than  by  his  original 
name  of  Wentworth,  which  was,  from  this 
period,  nearly  forgotten. 

To  return  now  to  the  troubles  in  Scotland. 
The  king  found  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
go  on  without  supplies,  and  he  accordingly  con- 
cluded, on  the  whole,  to  call  a  Parliament. 
He  was  in  serious  trouble.  Laud  Avas  in  serious 
trouble  too.  He  had  been  indefatigably  en- 
gaged for  many  years  in  establishing  Epis- 
copacy all  over  England,  and  in  putting  down, 
by  force  of  law,  all  disposition  to  dissent  from 
it ;  and  in  attempting  to  produce,  throughout 
the  realm,  one  uniform  system  of  Christian 
faith  and  worship.  This  was  his  idea  of  the 
perfection  of  religious  order  and  right.  He 
used  to  make  an  annual  visitation  to  all  the 
bishoprics  in  the  realm  ;  inquire  into  the  usages 
which  prevailed  there  ;  put  a  stop,  so  far  as  he 
could,  to  all  irregularities  ;  and  confirm  and 
establish,  by  the  most  decisive  measures,  the 
Episcopal  authority.  He  sent  in  his  report  to 
the  king  of  the  results  of  his  inquiries^  asking 
the  king's  aid,  where  his  own  powers  were  in- 
sufficient, for  the  more  full  accomplishment  of 
his  plans.    But,  notwithstanding  all  this  dili- 


THE  EARL   OF   STRAFFORD.  141 

gence  and  zeal,  he  found  that  he  met  with  very 
partial  success.  The  irregularities,  as  he  called 
them,  which  lie  suppressed  in  one  place, 
would  break  out  in  anotlier  ;  the  disposition  to 
throw  off  tlie  dominion  of  bisliops  was  getting 
more  and  more  extensive  and  deeply  seated  ; 
and  now,  the  result  of  the  religious  revolution 
in  Scotland,  and  of  the  general  excitement 
which  it  produced  in  England,  was  to  widen 
and  extend  this  feeling  more  than  ever. 

He  did  not,  however,  give  up  the  contest. 
He  employed  an  able  writer  to  draw  up  a  de- 
fense of  Episcopacy,  as  the  true  and  scrip- 
tural form  of  Church  government.  The  book, 
when  first  prepared,  was  moderate  in  its  tone, 
and  allowed  that  in  some  particular  cases  a 
Presbyterian  mode  of  government  might  be  ad- 
missible ;  but  Laud,  in  revising  the  book,  struck 
out  these  concessions  as  unnecessary  and  danger- 
ous, and  placed  Episcopacy  in  full  and  exclu- 
sive possession  of  the  ground,  as  the  divinely 
instituted  and  only  admissible  form  of  Church 
government  and  discipline.  He  caused  this 
book  to  be  circulated  ;  but  the  attempt  to  rea- 
son with  the  refractory,  after  having  failed  in 
the  attempt  to  coerce  them,  is  not  generally 
very  successful.  The  archbishop,  in  his  re- 
port to  the  king  this  year  of  the  state  of  things 
throughout  his  province,  represents  the  spirit 
of  non-conformity  to  the  Church  of  England  as 


142  KING    CHARLES   I. 

getting  too  strong  for  him  to  control  without 
more  efficient  help  from  the  civil  power ;  but 
whether  it  would  be  wise,  he  added,  to  under- 
take any  more  effectual  coercion  in  the  present 
distracted  state  of  the  kingdom,  he  left  it  for 
the  king  to  decide. 

Laud  proposed  that  the  council  should  rec- 
ommend to  the  king  the  calling  of  a  Parlia- 
ment. At  the  same  time,  they  passed  a  resolu- 
tion that,  in  case  the  Parliament  '^should 
prove  peevish,  and  refuse  to  grant  supplies, 
they  would  sustain  the  king  in  the  resort  to 
extraordinary  measures.''  This  was  regarded 
as  a  threat,  and  did  not  help  to  prepossess  the 
members  favorably  in  regard  to  the  feeling  with 
which  the  king  was  to  meet  them.  The  king 
ordered  tlie  Parliament  to  be  elected  in  De- 
cember, but  did  not  call  them  together  until 
April.  In  the  mean  time,  he  went  on  raising 
an  army,  so  as  to  have  his  miUtary  preparations 
in  readiness.  He,  hov/ever,  appointed  a  n:.v 
set  of  officers  to  the  command  of  this  army, 
neglecting  those  who  were  in  command  before, 
as  he  had  found  them  so  little  disposed  to  act 
efficiently  in  his  cause.  He  supplied  the 
leader's  place  with  Strafford.  This  change  pro- 
duced very  extensive  murmurs  of  dissatisfac- 
tion, which,  added  to  all  the  other  causes  of 
complaint,  made  the  times  look  very  dark  and 
stormy. 


THE   EARL   OF   STRAFFORD.  143 

The  Parliament  assembled  in  April.  The 
king  went  into  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Com- 
mons being,  as  usual,  summoned  to  the  bar. 
He  addressed  them  as  follows  : 

"  My  Lords  and  gentlemen, — There  was 
never  a  King  who  had  a  more  great  and  weighty 
Cause  to  call  his  People  together  than  myself. 
I  will  not  trouble  you  with  the  particulars. 
I  have  informed  my  Lord  keeper,  and  now 
command  him  to  speak,  and  I  desire  your  At- 
tention." 

The  keeper  referred  to  was  the  keeper  of  the 
king's  seals,  who  was,  of  course,  a  great  officer 
of  state.  He  made  a  speech,  informing  the 
houses,  in  general  terms,  of  the  king's  need  of 
money,  but  said  that  it  was  not  necessary  for 
him  to  explain  minutely  the  monarch's  plans, 
as  they  were  exclusively  his  own  concern.  We 
may  as  well  quote  his  words,  in  order  to  show 
in  what  light  the  position  and  province  of  a 
British  Parliament  was  considered  in  those 
days. 

*'  His  majesty's  kingly  resolutions,"  said  the 
lord  keeper,  ^'  are  seated  in  the  ark  of  his  sa- 
cred breast,  and  it  were  a  presumption  of  too 
high  a  nature  for  any  Uzziah  uncalled  to  touch 
it.     Yet  his  Majesty  is  now  pleased  to  lay  by 


144  KING   CHARLES   I. 

the  shining  Beams  of  Majesty,  as  Phoebus  did 
to  Phaeton,  that  the  distance  between  Sover- 
eignty and  Subjection  should  not  bar  you  of 
that  filial  freedom  of  Access  to  his  Person  and 
Counsels  ;  only  let  us  beware  how,  with  the 
Son  of  Clymene,  we  aim  not  at  the  guiding  of 
the  Chariot,  as  if  that  were  the  only  Testimony 
of  Fatherly  Affection  ;  and  let  us  remember, 
that  though  the  King  sometimes  lays  by  the 
Beams  and  Eays  of  Majesty,  he  never  lays  by 
Majesty  itself." 

When  the  keeper  had  finished  his  speech,  the 
king  confirmed  it  by  saying  that  he  had  exag- 
gerated nothing,  and  the  houses  were  left  to 
their  deliberations.  Instead  of  proceeding  to 
the  business  of  raising  money,  they  commenced 
an  inquiry  into  the  grievances,  as  they  called 
them — that  is,  all  the  unjust  acts  and  the  mal- 
administration of  the  government,  of  which 
the  country  had  been  complaining  for  the  ten 
years  during  which  there  had  been  an  inter- 
mission of  Parliaments.  The  king  did  all  in 
his  power  to  arrest  this  course  of  procedure. 
He  sent  them  message  after  message,  urging 
them  to  leave  these  things,  and  take  up  first 
the  question  of  supplies.  He  then  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  the  House  of  Peers,  requesting  them 
to  interpose,  and  exert  their  influence  to  lead 
the  Commons  to  act.    The  Peers  did  so.    The 


THE   EARL   OF   STIlAFFORD.  145 

Commons  sent  them  back  a  reply  that  their  in- 
terference in  the  business  of  supply,  which  be- 
longed to  the  Commons  alone,  was  a  breach  of 
their  privileges.  **  And,"  they  added,  *'  there- 
fore, the  Commons  desire  their  lordships  in 
their  wisdom  to  find  out  some  way  for  the  rep- 
aration of  their  privileges  broken  by  that 
act,  and  to  prevent  the  like  infringement  in 
future." 

Thus  repulsed  on  every  hand,  the  king  gave 
up  the  hope  of  accomplishing  anything  through 
the  action  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  he 
suddenly  determined  to  dissolve  Parliament. 
The  session  had  continued  only  about  three 
weeks.  In  dissolving  the  Parliament  the  king 
took  no  notice  of  the  Commons  whatever,  but 
addressed  the  Lords  alone.  The  Commons  and 
the  whole  country  were  incensed  at  such  ca- 
pricious treatment  of  the  national  Legislature. 

The  king  and  his  council  tried  all  summer 
to  get  the  army  ready  to  be  put  in  motion. 
The  great  difficulty,  of  course,  was  want  of 
funds.  The  Convocation,  which  was  the  great 
council  of  the  Church,  and  which  was  accus- 
tomed in  those  days  to  sit  simultaneously  with 
Parliament,  continued  their  session  afterward 
in  this  case,  and  raised  some  money  for  the 
king.  The  nobles  of  the  court  subscribed  a 
considerable  amount,  also,  which  they  lout  him. 
They  wanted  to  sustain hini  \i\  ii  stoutest  with 


146  KING   CHARLES  I. 

the  Gommons  on  their  own  account,  and  then, 
besides,  they  felt  a  personal  interest  in  him, 
and  a  sympathy  lor  him  in  the  troubles  which 
were  thickening  around  him. 

The  summer  months  passed  away  in  making 
the  preparations  and  getting  the  various  bodies 
of  troops  ready,  and  the  military  stores  collect- 
ed at  the  place  of  rendezvous  in  York  and  New- 
castle. The  Scots,  in  the  mean  time,  had  been 
assembling  their  forces  near  the  borders,  and, 
being  somewhat  imboldened  by  their  success  in 
the  previous  campaign,  crossed  the  frontier,  and 
advanced  boldly  to  meet  the  forces  of  the  king. 

They  published  a  manifesto,  declaring  that 
they  were  not  entering  England  with  any  hos- 
tile intent  toward  their  sovereign,  but  were 
only  coming  to  present  to  him  their  humble  pe- 
titions for  a  redress  of  their  grievances,  which 
they  said  they  were  sure  he  would  graciously 
receive  as  soon  as  he  had  opportunity  to  learn 
from  them  how  great  their  grievances  had  been. 
They  respectfully  requested  that  the  people  of 
England  would  allow  them  to  pass  safely  and 
without  molestation  through  the  land,  and 
promised  to  conduct  themselve3  with  the  ut- 
most propriety  and  decorum.  This  promise 
they  kept.  They  avoided  molesting  the  inhab- 
itants in  any  way,  and  purchased  fairly  every- 
thing they  constimed.  "When  the  English  offi- 
cers learned  that  the  Scotch  had  crossed  the 


THE  EARL   OF   STRAFFORD.  147 

Tweed,  they  sent  on  immediately  to  London, 
to  the  king,  urging  him  to  come  north  at  once, 
and  join  the  army,  with  all  the  remaining  forces 
at  his  command.  The  king  did  so,  but  it 
was  too  late.  He  arrived  at  York  ;  from  York 
he  went  northward  fo  reach  the  van  of  his 
army,  which  had  been  posted  at  Newcastle,  but 
on  his  way  he  was  met  by  messengers  saying 
tliat  they  were  in  full  retreat,  and  that  the 
Scotch  had  got  possession  of  Newcastle. 

The  circumstances  of  the  battle  were  these. 
Newcastle  is  upon  the  Tyne.  The  banks  at 
Newcastle  are  steep  and  high,  but  about  four 
miles  above  the  town  is  a  place  called  Newbum, 
where  was  a  meadow  near  the  river,  and  a  con- 
venient place  to  cross.  The  Scotch  advanced 
in  a  very  slow  and  orderly  manner  to  Newburn, 
and  encamped  there.  The  English  sent  a  de- 
tachment from  Newcastle  to  arrest  their  prog- 
ress. The  Scotch  begged  them  not  to  inter- 
rupt their  march,  as  they  were  only  going  to 
present  petitions  to  the  king !  The  English 
general,  of  course,  paid  no  attention  to  this  pre- 
text. The  Scotch  army  then  attacked  them, 
and  soon  put  them  to  flight.  The  routed  Eng- 
lish soldiers  fled  to  Newcastle,  and  Avere  there 
joined  by  all  that  portion  of  the  army  which 
was  in  Newcastle  in  a  rapid  retreat.  The 
Scotch  took  possession  of  the  town,  but  con- 
ducted themselves  in  a  vory  orderly  manner. 


148  KING   CHARLES   I. 

and  bought  and  paid  for  everything  they 
used. 

The  poor  king  was  now  in  a  situation  of  the 
most  imminent  and  terrible  danger.  Eebel 
subjects  had  got  full  possession  of  one  kingdom, 
and  were  now  advancing  at  the  head  of  victo- 
rious armies  into  the  other.  He  himself  had 
entirely  alienated  the  affections  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  Jiis  subjects,  and  had  openly  quarreled 
Avitli  and  dismissed  the  Legislature.  He  had 
no  funds,  and  had  exhausted  all  possible  means 
of  raising  funds.  He  was  half  distracted  with 
the  perplexities  and  dangers  of  his  position. 

His  deciding  on  dissolving  Parliament  in  the 
spring  was  a  hasty  step,  and  he  bitterly  regret- 
ted it  the  moment  the  deed  was  done.  He 
wanted  to  recall  it.  He  deliberated  several 
days  about  the  possibility  of  summoning  the 
same  members  to  meet  again,  and  constituting 
them  again  a  Parliament.  But  the  lawyers 
insisted  that  this  could  not  be  done.  A  disso- 
lution was  a  dissolution.  The  Parliament,  once 
dissolved,  was  no  more.  It  could  not  be  brought 
to  life  again.  There  must  be  new  orders  to 
the  country  to  proceed  to  new  elections.  To 
do  this  at  once  would  have  been  too  humili- 
ating for  the  king.  He  now  found,  however, 
that  the  necessity  for  it  could  no  longer  be  post- 
poned. There  was  such  a  thing  in  the  Eng- 
lish history  as  a  council  of  peers  alone,  called 


THE  EARL  OF   STRAFFORD.  149 

in  a  sudden  emergency  which  did  not  allow  of 
time  for  the  elections  necessary  to  constitute 
the  House  of  Commons.  Charles  called  such 
a  council  of  peers  to  meet  at  York,  and  they 
immediately  assembled. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Scotch  sent  ambassa- 
iors  to  York,  saying  to  the  king  that  they 
were  advancing  to  lay  their  grievances  before 
him  !  They  expressed  great  sorrow  and  regret 
at  the  victory  which  they  had  been  compelled 
to  gain  over  some  forces  that  had  attempted  to 
prevent  them  from  getting  access  to  their  sov- 
ereign. The  king  laid  this  communication  be- 
fore the  lords,  and  asked  their  advice  what  to 
do  ;  and  also  asked  them  to  counsel  him  liow 
he  should  provide  funds  to  keep  his  army  to- 
gether until  a  Parliament  could  be  convened. 
The  lords  advised  him  to  appoint  commission- 
ers to  meet  the  Scotch,  and  endeavor  to  com- 
promise the  difficulties  ;  and  to  send  to  the  city 
of  London,  asking  that  corporation  to  lend  him 
a  small  sum  until  Parliament  could  be  assem- 
bled. 

This  advice  was  followed.  A  temporary 
treaty  was  made  with  the  rebels,  altliough 
making  a  treaty  with  rebels  is  perhaps  tlie 
most  humiliating  thing  that  a  hereditary  sov- 
ereign is  ever  compelled  to  do.  The  Earl  of 
Strafford  was,  however,  entirely  opposed  to 
this  policy.     He  urged  the  king  most  earnestly 


150  KING   CHARLES   I. 

not  to  give  up  the  contest  without  a  more  de- 
cisive struggle.  He  represented  to  him  the 
danger  of  beginning  to  yield  to  the  torrent 
which  he  now  began  to  see  would  overwhelm 
them  all  if  it  was  allowed  to  have  its  way.  He 
tried  to  persuade  the  king  that  the  Scots  might 
yet  be  driven  back,  and  that  it  would  be  pos- 
sible to  get  along  without  a  Parliament.  He 
dreaded  a  Parliament.  The  king,  however, 
and  his  other  advisers,  thought  that  they  must 
yield  a  little  to  the  storm.  Strafford  then 
wanted  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  post  in 
Ireland,  where  he  thought  that  he  should  prob- 
ably be  safe  from  the  terrible  enmity  which  he 
must  have  known  that  he  had  awakened  in 
England,  and  which  he  thought  a  Parliament 
would  concentrate  and  bring  upon  his  devoted 
head.  But  the  king  would  not  consent  to  this. 
He  assured  Strafford  that  if  a  Parliament 
should  assemble,  he  would  take  care  that  they 
should  not  hurt  a  hair  of  his  head.  Unfortu- 
nate monarch  !  How  little  he  foresaw  that 
that  very  Parliament,  from  whose  violence  he 
thus  promised  to  defend  his  favorite  servant  so 
completely  as  to  insure  him  from  the  slightest 
injury,  would  begin  by  taking  off  his  favorite's 
head,  and  end  with  taking  off  his  own  I 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


DOWNFALL   OF   STRAFFORD   AND   LAUD. 


The  Parliament  asgiembled  in  November, 
1040.  The  king  proceeded  to  London  to  meet 
them.  He  left  Strafford  in  command  of  the 
army  at  York.  Active  hostilities  had  been 
suspended,  as  a  sort  of  temporary  truce  had 
been  concluded  with  the  Scots,  to  prepare  the 
way  for  a  final  treaty.  Strafford  had  been 
entirely  opposed  to  this,  being  still  full  of 
energy  and  courage.  The  king,  however,  began 
to  feel  alarmed.  He  went  to  London  to  meet 
the  Parliament  which  he  had  summoned,  but 
he  was  prepared  to  meet  them  in  a  very  differ- 
ent spirit  from  that  which  he  had  manifested 
on  former  occasions.  He  even  gave  up  all  the 
external  circumstances  of  pomp  and  parade 
with  which  the  opening  of  Parliament  had 
usually  been  attended.  He  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  go  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  state, 
with  a  numerous  retinue  and  great  parade. 
Now  he  was  conveyed  from  his  palace  along  the 

river  in  a  barge,  in  a  quiet  and  unostentatious 

161 


152  KING   CHARLES   I. 

manner.  His  opening  speech,  too,  was  mod- 
erate and  conciliatory.  In  a  word,  it  was  pretty 
evident  to  the  Commons  that  the  proud  and 
haughty  spirit  of  their  royal  master  was  be- 
ginning to  be  pretty  effectually  humbled. 

Of  course,  now,  in  proportion  as  the  king 
should  falter,  the  Commons  would  grow  bold. 
The  House  immediately  began  to  attack  Laud 
and  Strafford  in  their  speeches.  It  is  the  the- 
ory of  the  British  Constitution  that  the  king 
can  do  no  wrong  ;  whatever  criminality  at  any 
time  attaches  to  the  acts  of  his  administration, 
belongs  to  his  advisers,  not  to  himself.  The 
speakers  condemned,  in  most  decided  terms, 
the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  course  which  the 
government  had  pursued  during  the  intermis- 
sion of  Parliaments,  but  charged  it  all,  not  to 
the  king,  but  to  Strafford  and  Laud.  Strafford 
had  been,  as  they  considered,  the  responsible 
person  in  civil  and  military  affairs,  and  Laud 
in  those  of  the  Church.  These  speeches  were 
made  to  try  the  temper  of  the  House  and  of 
the  country,  and  see  whether  there  was  hostil- 
ity enough  to.  Laud  and  Strafford  in  the  House 
and  in  the  country,  and  boldness  enough  in 
the  expression  of  it,  to  warrant  their  impeach- 
ment.  ** 

The  attacks  thus  made  in  the  House  against 
the  two  ministers  were  made  very  soon.  AVith- 
in  a  week  after  the  opening  of  Parliament,  one 


STRAFFORD    AND    LAUD*S    END.        153 

of  the  members,  after  declaiming  a  long  time 
against  the  encroachments  and  tyranny  of 
Archbishop  Laud,  whose  title,  according  to 
English  usage,  was  **his  Grace,"  said  he 
hoped  that,  before  the  year  ran  round,  his 
grace  would  either  have  more  grace  or  no  grace 
at  all ;  "  for,"  he  added,  ''  our  manifold  griefs 
do  fill  a  mighty  and  vast  circumference,  yet  in 
such  a  manner  that  from  every  part  our  lines 
of  sorrow  do  meet  in  him,  and  point  at  him 
the  center,  from  whence  our  miseries  in  this 
Church,  and  many  of  them  in  the  Common- 
wealth, do  flow."  He  said,  also,  that  if  they 
must  submit  to  a  pope,  he  would  rather  obey 
one  that  was  as  far  off  as  the  Tiber,  than  to 
have  him  come  as  near  as  the  Thames. 

Similar  denunciations  were  made  against 
Strafford,  and  they  awakened  no  opposition. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  found  that  the  feeling 
of  hostility  against  both  the  ministers  was  so 
universal  and  so  strong,  that  the  leaders  began 
to  think  seriously  of  an  impeachment  on  a 
charge  of  high  treason.  High  treason  is  the 
greatest  crime  known  to  the  English  law,  and 
the  punishment  for  it,  especially  in  the  case  of 
a  peer  of  the  realm,  is  very  terrible.  This  pun- 
ishment was  generally  inflicted  by  what  was 
called  a  bill  of  attainder,  which  brought  with  it 
the  worst  of  penalties.  It  implied  the  perfect 
clestruction  of  the  criminal  iii  every  sense.   Ho 


154  KING   CHARLES  I. 

was  to  lose  his  life  by  having  his  head  c-ut  off 
upon  a  block.  His  body,  according  to  the 
strict  letter  of  the  law,  was  to  be  mutiwited  in 
a  manner  too  shocking  to  be  here  described. 
His  children  were  disinherited,  and  his  property 
all  forfeited.  This  was  considered  as  the  conse- 
quence of  the  attcdnting  of  the  blood,  which  ren- 
dered it  corrupt,  and  incapable  of  transmitting 
an  inheritance.  In  fact,  it  was  the  intention 
of  the  bill  of  attainder  to  brand  the  wretched 
object  of  it  with  complete  and  perpetual  in- 
famy. 

The  proceedings,  too,  in  the  impeachment 
and  trial  of  a  high  minister  of  state,  were  always 
very  imposing  and  solemn.  The  impeachment 
must  be  moved  by  the  Commons,  and  tried  by 
the  Peers.  A  peer  of  the  realm  could  be  tried 
by  no  inferior  tribunal.  When,  the  Commons 
proposed  bringing  articles  of  impeachment 
against  an  officer  of  state,  they  sent  first  a 
messenger  to  the  House  of  Peers  to  ask  them 
to  arrest  the  person  whom  they  intended  to 
accuse,  and  to  hold  him  for  trial  until  they 
should  have  their  articles  prepared.  The  House 
of  Peers  would  comply  with  this  request,  and  a 
time  would  be  appointed  for  the  trial.  The 
Commons  would  frame  the  charges,  and  appoint 
a  certain  number  of  their  members  to  manage 
the  prosecution.  They  would  collect  evidence, 
and  get  everything  ready  for  the  trial,     WheB 


STRAFFORD  AND   LAUD'S    END.       155 

the  time  arrived,  the  chamber  of  the  Ilonse  of 
Peers  would  be  arranged  as  a  court  room,  or 
they  would  assemble  in  some  other  hall  more 
suitable  for  the  purpose,  the  prisoner  would  be 
brought  to  the  bar,  the  commissioners  on  the 
part  of  the  Commons  would  appear  with  their 
documents  and  their  evidence,  persons  of  dis- 
tinction would  assemble  to  listen  to  the  pro- 
ceedings, and  the  trial  would  go  on. 

It  was  in  accordance  with  this  routine  that 
the  Commons  commenced  proceedings  against 
the  Earl  of  Strafford,  very  soon  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  session,  by  appointing  a  committee 
to  inquire  whether  there  was  any  just  cause  to 
accuse  him  of  treason.  The  committee  re- 
ported to  the  House  that  there  was  just  cause. 
The  House  then  appointed  a  messenger  to  go 
to  the  House  of  Lords,  saying  that  they  had 
found  that  there  was  just  cause  to  accuse  the 
Eail  of  Strafford  of  high  treason,  and  to  ask 
that  they  would  sequester  him  from  the  House, 
as  the  phrase  was,  and  hold  him  in  custody  till 
they  could  prepare  the  charges  and  the  evidence 
against  him.  All  these  proceedings  were  in 
secret  session,  in  order  that  Strafford  might 
not  get  warning  and  fly.  The  Commons  then 
nearly  all  accompanied  their  messenger  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  to  show  how  much  in  earnest 
they  were.  The  Lords  complied  with  the  re- 
quest.    They  caused  the  earl  to  be  arresteij 


156  KING   CHARLES   I. 

and  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  tisJtei^  of 
the  Mack  rod,  and  sent  two  officers  to  the  Com- 
mons to  inform  them  that  they  had  done  so. 

The  usher  of  £he  bhick  rod  is  a  very  impor- 
tant officer  of  tlie  House  of  Lords.  He  is  a  sort 
of  siieriff,  to  execute  the  various  behests  of  tlie. 
House,  having  officers  to  serve  under  liim  for 
this  purpose.  The  badge  of  his  office  has 
been,  for  centuries,  a  black  rod  with  a  golden 
lion  at  the  upper  end,  which  is  borne  before 
him  as  the  emblem  of  his  authority.  A  peer 
of  the  realm,  when  charged  with  treason,  is 
committed  to  the  custody  of  this  officer.  In 
this  case  he  took  the  Earl  of  Strafford  under 
his  charge,  and  kept  him  at  liis  house,  properly 
guarded.  The  Commons  went  on  preparing 
the  articles  of  impeachment. 

This  was  in  November.  During  the  winter 
following  the  parties  struggled  one  against 
another.  Laud  doing  all  in  his  power  to 
strengthen  the  position  of  the  king,  and  to 
avert  the  dangers  which  threatened  himself 
and  Strafford.  The  animosity,  however,  which 
was  felt  against  him  was  steadily  increasing. 
The  House  of  Commons  did  many  things  to 
discountenance  the  rites  and  usages  of  the 
Episcopal  Cliurch,  and  to  make  them  odious. 
The  excitement  among  the  populace  increased, 
and  mobs  began  to  interfere  with  the  service 
in  some  of  the  churches  in  Loudon  and  West* 


Vharte*M.jue»p,  too 

The  Earl  of  Strafford  Going  to  his  Trial. 


STRAFFORD   AND   LAUD'S   END.        157 

minster.  At  last  a  mob  of  five  hundred  per- 
sons assembled  around  the  archbishop's  palace 
at  Lambeth.  This  palace,  as  has  been  before 
stated,  is  on  the  bank  of  the  Thames,  just 
above  London,  opposite  to  Westminster.  The 
mob  were  there  for  two  hours,  beating  at  the 
doors  and  windows  in  an  attempt  to  force  ad- 
mission, but  in  vain.  The  palace  was  very 
strongly  guarded,  and  the  mob  were  at  length 
repulsed.  One  of  the  ringleaders  was  taken 
and  hanged. 

One  would  have  thought  that  this  sort  of 
persecution  would  have  awakened  some  sym- 
pathy in  the  archbishop's  favor  ;  but  it  was  too 
late.  He  had  been  bearing  down  so  mercilessly 
himself  upon  the  people  of  England  for  so 
many  years,  suppressing,  by  the  severest  meas- 
ures, all  expressions  of  discontent,  that  the 
hatred  had  become  entirely  uncontrollable.  Its 
breaking  out  at  one  point  only  promoted  its 
breaking  out  in  another.  The  House  of  Com- 
mons scxit  a  messenger  to  the  House  of  Lords, 
as  they  had  done  in  the  case  of  Strafford,  say- 
ing that  they  had  found  good  cause  to  accuse 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  of  treason,  and 
asked  that  he  might  be  sequestered  from  the 
House,  and  held  in  custody  till  they  could 
prepare  their  charges,  and  the  evidence  to 
sustain  them. 

12— CharlPsI. 


158  KING   CHARLES  ^. 

The  archbishop  was  at  that  time  in  his  seat. 
He  was  directed  to  withdraw.  Before  leaving 
the  chamber  he  asked  leave  to  say  a  few  words. 
Permission  was  granted,  and  he  said  in  sub- 
stance that  he  was  truiy  sorry  to  have  awak- 
ened in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  such  a 
degree  of  displeasure  as  was  obviously  excited 
against  him.  He  was  most  unhappy  to  have 
lived  to  see  the  day  in  wliicli  he  was  made 
subject  to  a  charge  of  treason.  He  begged 
their  lordships  to  look  at  the  whole  course  of 
his  life,  and  he  was  sure  that  they  would  be 
convinced  that  there  was  not  a  single  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons  who  could  really 
think  him  guilty  of  such  a  charge. 

Here  one  of  the  lords  interrupted  him  to  say, 
that  by  speaking  in  that  manner  he  was  utter- 
ing slander  against  the  House  of  Commons, 
charging  them  with  solemnly  bringing  accusa- 
tions which  they  did  not  believe  to  be  true. 
The  archbishop  then  said,  that  if  the  charge 
must  be  entertained,  he  hoped  that  he  should 
have  a  fair  trial,  according  to  the  ancient  Par- 
liamentary usages  of  the  realm.  Another  of 
the  lords  interrupted  him  again,  saying  that 
such  a  remark  was  improper,  as  it  was  not  for 
him  to  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  the  pro- 
ceedings should  be  conducted.  He  then  witli- 
drew,  while  the  House  should  consider  what 
course  to  take.    Presently  he  was  summoned 


STRAFFORD   AND   LAUD'S   END.        159 

back  to  the  bur  of  the  House,  and  there  com- 
mitted to  the  charge  of  the  usher  of  the  black 
rod.  The  usher  conducted  liim  to  his  house, 
and  lie  was  kept  there  for  ten  weeks  in  close 
confinement. 

At  lust  the  time  for  the  trial  of  Strafford 
came  on,  while  Laud  was  in  confinement.  The 
interest  felt  in  the  trial  was  deep  and  universal. 
There  were  three  kingdoms,  as  it  were,  com- 
bined against  one  man.  Various  measures 
were  resorted  to  by  the  Commons  to  diminish 
the  possibility  that  the  accused  should  escape 
conviction.  Some  of  them  have  since  been 
thought  to  be  unjust  and  cruel.  For  example, 
several  persons  who  were  strong  friends  of 
Strafford,  and  who,  as  was  supposed,  might 
offer  testimony  in  his  favor,  were  charged  with 
treason  and  confined  in  prison  until  the  trial 
was  ov3r.  The  Commons  appointed  thirteen 
person?  to  manage  the  prosecution.  These 
]vrsons  were  many  months  preparing  the 
charges  and  the  evidence,  keeping  their  whole 
proceedings  profoundly  secret  during  all  the 
time.  At  last  the  day  approached,  and  West- 
minster Hall  was  fitted  up  and  prepared  to  be 
tiie  scene  of  the  trial. 

Westminster  Hall  has  the  name  of  being  the 
largest  room  whose  roof  is  not  supported  by 
pillars  in  Europe.  It  stands  in  the  region  of 
the  palaces  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament  at 


160  ^       KING   CHARLES   I. 

Westminster,  and  has  been  for  seven  centuries 
the  scene  of  pageants  and  ceremonies  without 
number.  It  is  said  that  ten  thousand  persons 
have  been  accommodated  in  it  at  a  banquet.* 
This  great  room  was  fitted  up  for  the  trial. 
Seats  were  provided  for  both  houses  of  Parlia- 
ment ;  for  the  Commons  were  to  be  present  as 
accusers,  and  the  Lords  as  the  court.  There 
was,  as  usual,  a  chair  of  state,  or  throne,  for 
the  king,  as  a  matter  of  form.  .  There  was  also 
a  private  gallery,  screened  from  the  observa- 
tion of  the  spectators,  where  the  king  and 
queen  could  sit  and  witness  the  proceedings. 
They  attended  during  the  whole  trial. 

One  would  have  supposed  that  the  deliber- 
ate solemnity  of  these  preparations  would  have 
calmed  the  animosity  of  Strafford's  enemies, 
and  led  them  to  be  satisfied  at  last  with  some- 
thing less  than  his  utter  destruction.  But  this 
seems  not  to  have  been  the  effect.  The  terrible 
hostilities  which  had  been  gathering  strength 
so  long,  seemed  to  rage  all  the  more  fiercely 
now  that  there  was  a  prospect  of  their  gratifi- 
cation. And  yet  it  was  very  hard  to  find  any- 
thing sufficiently  distinct  and  tangible  against 
the  accused  to  warrant  his  conviction.  The 
commissioners  who  had  been  appointed  to  man- 
age the  case  divided  the  charges  among  them. 

*  It  is  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  seventy- 
five  wide,  and  ninety  high. 


STRAFFORD   AND   LAUD's    END.        161 

When  the  trial  commenced,  they  stated  and 
urged  these  charges  in  succession.  Strafford, 
who  had  not  known  beforehand  what  they  were 
to  be,  replied  to  them,  one  by  one,  with  calm- 
ness and  composure,  and  yet  v/itli  great  elo- 
quence and  power.  The  extraordinary  abili- 
ties which  he  had  shown  through  the  whole 
course  of  his  life,  seemed  to  shine  out  with  in- 
creased splendor  amid  the  awful  solemnities 
which  were  now  darkening  its  close.  He  was 
firm  and  undaunted,  and  yet  respectful  and 
submissive.  The  natural  excitements  of  the 
occasion  ;  the  imposing  assembly  ;  the  breath- 
less attention ;  the  magnificent  hall ;  the  con- 
sciousness that  the  opposition  which  he  was 
struggling  to  stem  before  that  great  tribunal 
was  the  combined  hostility  of  three  kingdoms, 
and  that  the  torrent  was  flowing  from  a  reser- 
voir which  had  been  accumulating  for  many 
years ;  and  that  the  whole  civilized  world  were 
looking  on  with  great  interest  to  watch  the  re- 
sult ;  and  perhaps,  more  than  all,  that  he  was 
in  the  unseen  presence  of  his  sovereign,  whom 
he  was  accustomed  to  look  upon  as  the  great- 
est personage  on  earth  ;  these,  and  the  other 
circumstances  of  the  scene,  filled  his  mind  with 
strong  emotions,  and  gave  animation,  and  en- 
ergy, and  a  lofty  eloquence  to  all  that  he  said. 
The  truil  histed  eighteen  days,  the  excite- 
ment increasing  constantly  to  the  end.    There 


162  KING   CHAKLES  I. 

was  notliing  proved  which  could  with  .iny  pro^ 
priety  be  considered  as  treason.  He  had  man^ 
aged  the  government,  it  is  true,  witli  one  set 
of  views  in  respect  to  the  absolute  prerogatives 
and  powers  of  the  king,  while  tliose  who  now 
were  in  possession  of  power  held  opposite  views, 
and  they  considered  it  a  matter  of  necessity 
that  he  should  die.  The  charge  of  treason  was 
a  pretext  to  bring  the  case  somewhat  within 
the  reach  of  the  formalities  of  law.  It  is  one 
of  the  necessary  incidents  of  all  governmental 
systems  founded  on  force,  and  not  on  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed,  that  when  great  and  fun- 
damental questions  of  policy  arise,  they  often 
bring  the  country  to  a  crisis  in  which  there  can 
be  no  real  settlement  of  the  dispute  without 
the  absolute  destruction  of  one  party  or  the 
other.  It  was  so  now,  as  the  popular  leaders 
supposed.  They  had  determined  that  stern 
necessity  required  that  Laud  and  Strafford 
must  die  ;  and  the  only  object  of  going  through 
the  formality  of  a  trial  was  to  soften  the  vio- 
lence of  the  proceeding  a  little,  by  doing  all 
that  could  be  done  toward  establishing  a  legal 
justification  of  the  deed. 

The  trial,  as  has  been  said,  lasted  eighteen 
days.  During  all  this  time,  the  leaders  were 
not  content  with  simply  urging  the  proceedings 
forward  energetically  in  Westminster  Hall. 
They  >yQrc  Jiuineuyering  and  managing  in  every 


STPwAFFORD   AND   LAUD's   END  163 

possible  way  to  secure  the  final  vote.  But, 
notwithstanding  this,  Strafford's  defense  was 
so  able,  and  the  failure  to  make  out  the  charge 
of  treason  against  him  was  so  clear,  that  it  was 
doubtful  what  the  result  would  be.  Accord- 
ingly,without  waiting  for  the  decision  of  the 
Peers  on  the  impeachment,  a  bill  of  attainder 
against  the  earl  was  brought  forward  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  This  bill  of  attainder  was 
passed  by  a  large  majority — yeas  204,  nays  59. 
It  was  tlien  sent  to  the  House  of  Lords.  The 
Lords  were  very  unwilling  to  pass  it. 

Wliile  they  were  debating  it,  the  king  sent 
a  message  to  them  to  say  that  in  his  opinion 
tlie  earl  liad  not  been  guilty  of  treason,  or  of 
any  attempt  to  subvert  the  laws ;  and  that 
several  tilings  which  had  been  alleged  in  the 
trial,  and  on  which  the  bill  of  attainder  chiefly 
rested,  were  not  true.  He  was  willing,  how- 
over,  if  it  would  satisfy  the  enemies  of  the  earl, 
to  have  him  convicted  of  a  misdemeanor,  and 
made  incapable  of  holding  any  public  office 
from  that  time  ;  but  he  protested  against  his 
being  punished  by  a  bill  of  attainder  on  a  charge 
of  treason. 

This  interposition  of  the  king  in  Strafford's 
favor  awakened  loud  expressions  of  displeas- 
ure. Tliey  called  it  an  interference  with  the 
action  of  one  of  tlie  liouses  of  Parliament.  The 
enemies  of  Strafford  created  a  great  excitement 


164  KING  CHARLES   I. 

against  him  out  of  doors.  They  raised  clamor- 
ous calls  for  his  execution  among  the  populace. 
The  people  made  black  lists  of  the  names  of 
persons  who  were  in  the  earl's  favor,  and  post- 
ed them  up  in  public  places,  calling  such  per- 
sons Straffordians,  and  threatening  them  with 
public  vengeance.  The  Lords,  who  would 
have  been  willing  to  have  saved  Strafford's  life 
if  they  had  dared,  began  to  find  that  they  could 
not  do  so  without  endangering  their  own. 
When  at  last  the  vote  came  to  be  taken  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  out  of  eighty  members  who 
had  been  present  at  the  trial,  only  forty-six 
were  present  to  vote,  and  the  bill  was  passed 
by  a  vote  of  thirty-five  to  eleven.  The  thirty- 
four  who  were  absent  were  probably  all  against 
the  bill,  but  were  afraid  to  appear. 

The  responsibility  now  devolved  upon  the 
king.  An  act  of  Parliament  must  be  signed  by 
the  king.  He  really  enacts  it.  The  action  of 
the  two  houses  is,  in  theory,  only  a  recom- 
mendation of  the  measure  to  him.  The  king 
was  determined  on  no  account  to  give  his  con- 
sent to  Strafford's  condemnation.  He,  how- 
ever, laid  the  subject  before  his  Privy  Council. 
They,  after  deliberating  upon  it,  recommended 
that  he  should  sign  the  bill.  Nothing  else, 
they  said,  could  allay  the  terrible  storm  which 
was  raging,  and  the  king  ought  to  prefer  the 
peace  and  safety  of  the  realm  to  the  life  of 


STRAFFORD   AND   LAUD  S   END. 


165 


any  one  man,  however  innocent  he  might  be. 
The  populace,  in  the  mean  time,  crowded 
around  the  king's  palace  at  Whitehall,  calling 
out  ^*  Justice  !  Justice  I '^  and  filling  the  air 
with  threats  and  imprecations  ;  and  preachers 
in  their  pulpits  urged  the  necessity  of  punish- 
ing offenders,  and  descanted  on  the  iniquity 


1 

1 

^^^P 

^^^^^ 

■■■q 

■ 

^     '^=3^^^ 

^k 

i'        ^^^ 

^^■| 

1 

1 

^R 

The  Tower  of  London.  s 

which  those  magistrates  committed  who  al- 
lowed great  transgressors  to  escape  the  penalty 
due  for  their  crimes. 

The  queen,  too,  was  alarmed.  She  begged 
the  king,  with  tears,  not  any  longer  to  attempt 
to  withstand  the  torrent  which  threatened  to 
sweep  them  all  away  in  its  fury.  While  things 
were  in  this  state,  Charles  received  a  letter 
from  Strafford  in  the  Tower,  expressing  his  con- 
sent, and  even  his  request,  that  the  king  should 
yield  and  sign  the  bill. 

Strafford  said,  in  his  letter  to  the  king. 


166  KING   CHARLES   I. 

^'  To  set  your  Majesty's  conscience  at  Lib- 
erty, I  do  most  humbly  beseech  your  Majesty 
for  Prevention  of  Evils,  which  may  happen  by 
your  Eefusal,  to  pass  this  Bill.  Sir,  My  Con- 
sent shall  more  acquit  you  herein  to  God,  than 
all  the  World  can  do  besides  ;  To  a  willing  Man 
there  is  no  Injury  done  ;  and  as  by  God's  Grace, 
I  forgive  all  the  World,  with  a  calmness  and 
Meekness  of  infinite  Contentment  to  my  dis- 
lodging Soul,  so.  Sir,  to  you  I  can  give  the  Life 
of  this  World  with  all  the  cheerfulness  imag- 
inable, in  the  just  Acknowledgment  of  your  ex- 
ceeding Favors ;  and  only  beg  that  in  your 
Goodness  you  would  vouchsafe  to  cast  your 
gracious  Eegard  upon  my  poor  Son  and  his 
tliree  sisters,  less  or  more,  and  no  otlierwise 
than  as  their  unfortunate  Father  may  here- 
after appear  more  or  less  guilty  of  this  Death. 
God  long  preserve  your  Majesty."' 

On  receiving  this  letter  the  king  caused  the 
bill  to  be  signed.  He  would  not  do  it  with  his 
own  hands,  but  commissioned  two  of  his  coun- 
cil to  do  it  in  his  name.  He  then  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  Strafford  to  announce  the  decision, 
and  to  inform  him  that  he  must  prepare  to  die. 
The  messenger  observed  that  the  earl  seemed 
surprised  ;  and  after  hearing  that  the  king  had 
signed  the  bill,  he  quoted,  in  a  tone  of  despair, 
the  words  of  Scripture,  ^^Put  not  your  trust  in 


STRAFFORD   AND   LAUD's   END.        167 

princes,  nor  in  tlie  sons  of  men,  for  in  tluni  is 
no  salvation."  Historians  have  thought  it 
strange  that  Stratford  shouhl  liave  expressed 
til  is  disappointment  when  he  had  himself  re- 
quested the  king  to  resist  the  popular  will  no 
longer ;  and  they  infer  from  it  that  he  was  not 
sinc(ire  in  the  request,  but  supposed  tliat  the 
king  would  regard  it  as  an  act  of  nobleness  and 
generosity  on  his  part,  that  would  render  him 
more  unwilling  than  ever  to  consent  to  his 
destruction,  and  that  he  was  accordingly  sur- 
prised and  disappointed  when  he  found  that  the 
king  had  taken  him  at  his  word.  It  is  said, 
liowever,  by  some  historians,  that  this  letter 
was  a  forgery,  and  that  it  was  written  by  some 
of  Strafford's  enemies  to  lead  the  king  to  resist 
no  longer.  The  reader,  by  perusing  the  let- 
ter again,  can  perhaps  form  some  judgment 
wliether  such  a  document  was  more  likely  to 
have  been  fabricated  by  enemies,  or  really  writ- 
ten by  the  unhappy  prisoner  himself. 

The  king  did  not  entirely  give  up  the  hope 
of  saving  his  friend,  even  after  the  bill  of  at- 
tainder was  signed.  He  addressed  the  follow- 
ing message  to  the  House  of  Lords  : 

'^  My  Lords, — I  did  yesterday  satisfy  the 
Justice  of  this  Kingdom  by  passing  the  Bill 
of  Attainder  against  the  Earl  of  Strafford  : 
but  Mercy  being  as  inherent  and  inseparable 


168  KING    CHARLES   I. 

to  a  King  as  Justice,  I  desire  at  tins  time  in 
some  measure  to  shew  that  likewise,  by  suffer- 
ing that  unfortunate  Man  to  fulfil  the  natural 
course  of  his  Life  in  a  close  Imprisonment : 
yet  so,  if  ever  he  make  the  least  Offer  to 
escape,  or  offer  directly  or  indirectly  to  meddle 
in  any  sort  of  public  Business,  especially  with 
Me  either  by  Message  or  Letter,  it  shall  cost 
him  liis  Life  without  farther  Process.  This, 
if  it  may  be  done  without  the  Discontentment 
of  my  People,  will  be  an  unspeakable  Content- 
ment to  me. 

*'I  will  not  say  that  your  complying  with 
me  in  this  my  intended  Mercy,  shall  make  me 
more  willing,  but  certainly  'twill  make  me 
more  cheerful  in  granting  your  Just  Grievances  : 
But  if  no  less  than  his  Life  can  satisfie  my 
People,  I  must  say  Let  justice  be  done.  Thus 
again  recommending  the  consideration  of  my 
Intention  to  you,  I  rest, 

"  Your  Unalterable  and  Affectionate  Friend, 

"  Charles  R." 

The  Lords  were  inexorable.  Three  days 
from  the  time  of  signing  the  bill,  arrangements 
were  made  for  conducting  the  prisoner  to  the 
scaffold.  Laud,  who  had  been  his  friend  and 
fellow-laborer  in  the  king's  service,  was  con- 
fined also  in  the  Tower,  awaiting  his  turn  to 
come  to  trial.     They  were  not  allowed  to  visit 


r  •-■■ 

'i| 

^1 

aJUBB^^^B^^K^Ky^iy^  ^£-  I'va  «jt 

t 

^Hi 

'^   '.'■  " 

:  ll^li 

PI! 

^'^^"  ■  "         \^B 

---^ 

'"-    ■    '^^fi^^ 

St^n     '            '                                                         '    ^ 

^^^3i 

^^^^^BEii=^:r;:=^.=:J3E±t=^iaS^| 

C'/bur(ca  i.  yace  ^.  Jba 

The  Earl  oi  Strafford  led  to  executioo. 


STRAFFORD   AND   LAUd's   END.        169 

each  otlier,  but  Strafford  sent  word  to  Laud 
requesting  him  to  be  at  his  window  at  the  time 
when  he  was  to  pass,  to  bid  him  farewell  and 
to  give  him  his  blessing.  Laud  accordingly 
aj^peared  at  the  window,  and  Strafford,  as  he 
passed,  asked  for  the  prelate's  prayers  and  for 
liis  blessing.  The  old  man,  for  Laud  was  now 
nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  attempted  to 
speak,  but  he  could  not  command  himself  suf- 
ficiently to  express  what  he  wished  to  say,  and 
he  fell  back  into  the  arms  of  his  attendants. 
*'  God  protect  you,"  said  Strafford,  and  walked 
calmly  on. 

lie  Avent  to  the  place  of  execution  with  the 
composure  and  courage  of  a  hero.  He  spoke 
freely  to  those  around  him,  asserted  his  inno- 
cence, sent  messages  to  his  absent  friends,  and 
said  he  waS  ready  and  willing  to  die.  The 
scaffold,  in  such  executions  as  this,  is  a  plat- 
form slightly  raised,  with  a  block  and  chairs 
upon  it,  all  covered  with  black  cloth.  A  part 
of  the  dress  has  to  be  removed  just  before  the 
execution,  in  order  that  the  neck  of  the  suf- 
ferer may  be  fully  exposed  to  the  impending 
blow.  Strafford  made  these  preparations  him- 
self, and  said,  as  he  did  so,  that  lie  was  in  no 
wise  afraid  of  death,  but  that  he  should  lay 
his  head  upon  that  block  as  cheerfully  as  he 
ever  did  upon  his  pillow. 


170 


KING   CKARLES  T. 


Charles  found  his  position  in  no  respect  im- 
proved by  the  execution  of  Strafford.  Tlie 
Commons,  finding  their  influence  and  power 
increasing,  grew  more  and  more  bold,  and  were 
from  this  time  so  absorbed  in  the  events  con- 
nected with  the  progress  of  their  quarrel  with 
the  king,  that  they  left  Laud  to  pine  in  his 
prison  for  about  four  years.  They  then  found 
time  to  act  over  again  the  solemn  and  awful 
scene  of  a  trial  for  treason  before  the  House  of 
Peers,  the  passing  of  a  bill  of  attainder,  and 
an  execution  on  Tower  Hill.  Laud  was  over 
seventy  years  of  age  when  the  ax  fell  upon  him. 
He  submitted  to  his  fate  with  a  calmness  and 
heroism  in  keeping  with  his  age  and  his  char- 
acter. He  said,  in  fact,  that  none  of  his  ene- 
mies could  be  more  desirous  to  send  him  out  of 
life  than  he  was  to  go. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CIVIL  WAR. 

The  way  in  which  the  king  came  at  last  to  a 
final  rupture  with  Parliament  was  this.  The 
victory  which  the  Commons  gained  in  the  case 
of  Strafford  had  greatly  increased  their  con- 
fidence and  their  power,  and  the  king  found, 
for  some  months  afterward,  that  instead  of  be- 
ing satisfied  witli  tlie  concessions  he  had  made, 
they  were  continually  demanding  more.  The 
more  he  yielded,  the  more  they  encroached. 
They  grew,  in  a  word,  bolder  and  bolder,  in 
proportion  to  their  success.  They  considered 
themselves  doing  the  state  a  great  and  good 
service  by  disarming  tyranny  of  its  power. 
The  king,  on  tlie  other  hand,  considered  them 
as  undermining  all  the  foundations  of  good 
government,  and  as  depriving  him  of  personal 
rights,  the  most  sacred  and  solemn  that  could 
vest  in  any  human  being. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  on  former  occa- 
sions, when  tlie  king  had  got  into  contention 
with  a  Parliament,  he  had  dissolved  it,  and 

either  attempted  to  govern  without  one,  or  else 
i.;.  Churl*. I  171 


17^  KING   CHAKLES   I. 

had  called  for  a  new  election,  hoping  that  the 
new  members  would  be  more  compliant.  But 
he  could  not  dissolve  the  Parliament  now. 
They  had  provided  against  this  danger.  At 
the  time  of  the  trial  of  Strafford,  they  brought 
in  a  bill  into  the  Commons  providing  that 
thenceforth  the  Houses  could  not  be  prorogued 
or  dissolved  without  their  own  consent.  The 
Commons,  of  course,  passed  the  bill  very  read- 
ily. The  Peers  were  more  reluctant,  but  they 
did  not  dare  to  reject  it.  The  king  was  ex- 
tremely unwilling  to  sign  the  bill ;  but,  amid 
the  terrible  excitements  and  dangers  of  that 
trial,  he  was  overborne  by  the  influences  of 
danger  and  intimidation  which  surrounded 
him.  He  signed  the  bill.  Of  course  the  Com- 
mons were,  thereafter,  their  own  masters. 
However  dangerous  or  destructive  the  king 
might  consider  their  course  of  conduct  to  be, 
he  could  now  no  longer  arrest  it,  as  heretofore, 
by  a  dissolution. 

He  went  on,  therefore,  till  the  close  of  1641, 
yielding  slowly  and  reluctantly,  and  with  many 
struggles,  but  still  all  the  time  yielding,  to  the 
resistless  current  which  bore  him  along.  At 
last  he  resolved  to  yield  no  longer.  After  re- 
treating so  long,  he  determined  suddenly  and 
desperately  to  face  about  and  attack  his  ene- 
mies. The  whole  world  looked  on  with  aston- 
ishment at  such  a  sudden  change  of  hie  policy. 


\  ; 

CIVIL    WAK.  173 

The  measure  wliicli  he  resorted  to  Avas  this. 
lie  determined  to  select  a  number  of  the  most 
efficient  and  prominent  men  in  Parliament, 
who  liad  been  leaders  in  the  proceedings  against 
him,  and  demand  their  arrest,  imprisonment, 
and  trial,  on  a  charge  of  high  treason.  The 
king  was  influenced  to  do  this  partly  by  the  ad- 
vice of  the  queen,  and  of  the  ladies  of  the  court, 
and  other  persons  who  did  not  understand  how 
deep  and  strong  the  torrent  was  which  they 
tlms  urged  him  to  attempt  to  stem.  They 
tlioughtthat  if  he  would  show  a  little  courage 
nnd  energy  in  facing  these  men,  they  would 
yield  in  their  turn,  and  that  their  boldness  and 
success  was  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the 
king's  want  of  spirit  in  resisting  them. 
*' Strike  boldly  at  them,"  said  they;  *' seize 
the  leaders  ;  have  them  tried,  and  condemned, 
and  executed.  Threaten  the  rest  with  the 
same  fate  ;  and  follow  up  these  measures  with 
energetic  and  decisive  action,  and  you  will  soon 
make  a  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs." 

The  king  adopted  this  policy,  and  he  did 
make  a  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs,  but  not 
such  a  change  as  his  advisers  had  anticipated. 
The  Commons  were  thrown  suddenly  into  a 
state  of  astonishment  one  day  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  king's  officer  in  the  House,  who  rose 
and  read  articles  of  a  charge  of  treason  against 
five  of  the  most  influential  and  popular  mem- 


174  KING    CHARLES  I. 

bers.  Tlie  officer  asked  that  a  committee 
should  be  appointed  to  hear  the  evidence 
against  them  which  the  king  was  preparing. 
The  Commons,  on  hearing  this,  immediately 
voted,  that  if  any  person  should  attempt  even 
to  seize  the  papers  of  the  persons  accused,  it 
should  be  lawful  for  them  to  resist  such  an 
attempt  by  every  means  in  their  power. 

Tlie  next  day  another  officer  appeared  at  the 
bar  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  spoke  as 
follows :  ^^  I  am  commanded  by  the  king's 
majesty,  my  master,  upon  my  allegiance,  that 
I  should  come  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
require  of  Mr.  Speaker  five  gentlemen,  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Commons ;  and  those 
gentlemen  being  delivered,  I  am  commanded 
to  arrest  them  in  his  majesty's  name,  on  a 
charge  of  high  treason."  The  Commons,  on 
hearing  this  demand,  voted  that  they  would 
take  it  into  consideration  ! 

The  king's  friends  and  advisers  urged  him 
to  follow  the  matter  up  vigorously.  Every- 
thing depended,  they  said,  on  firmness  and  de- 
cision. The  next  da3^  accordingly,  the  king 
determined  to  go  himself  to  the  House,  and 
make  the  demand  in  person.  A  lady  of  the 
court,  who  was  made  acquainted  with  this 
plan,  sent  notice  of  it  to  the  House.  In  going, 
the  king  took  his  guard  with  him,  and  several 
personal  attendants.     The  number  of  soldiers 


CIVIL   WAR.  175 

was  said  to  be  five  hundred.  He  left  this 
great  retinue  at  the  door,  and  he  himself  en- 
tered the  House.  The  Commons,  when  they 
heard  tliat  he  was  coming,  had  ordered  the 
five  members  who  were  accused  to  withdraw. 
They  went  out  just  before  the  king  came  in. 
The  king  advanced  to  the  speaker's  chair,  took 
his  seat,  and  made  the  following  address. 

"  Grentlemen, — I  am  sorry  for  this  occasion 
of  coming  unto  you.  Yesterday  I  sent  a  Ser- 
geant at  Arms  upon  a  very  important  occasion 
to  apprehend  some  that  by  my  Command  were 
accused  of  High  Treason  ;  whereunto  I  did  ex. 
pect  Obedience  and  not  a  message.  And  I 
must  declare  unto  you  here,  that  albeit  no  king 
that  ever  was  in  England  shall  be  more  careful 
of  your  Privileges,  to  maintain  them  to  the  ut- 
termost of  his  Power,  than  I  shall  be  ;  yet  you 
must  know  that  in  cases  of  Treason  no  Person 
hath  a  Privilege  ;  and  tlierefore  I  am  come  to 
know  if  any  of  those  Persons  that  were  accused 
are  here.  For  I  must  tell  you,  Gentlemen, 
that  so  long  as  these  Persons  that  I  have  ac- 
cused (for  no  slight  Crime,  but  for  Treason) 
are  here,  I  cannot  expect  that  this  House  will 
be  in  the  right  way  that  I  do  heartily  wish  it. 
Therefore  I  am  come  to  tell  you  that  I  must 
have  them  wherever  I  find  them." 

After  looking  around,  and  finding  that  the 


1T6  i:i:40  chakles  i. 

members  in  question  were  not  in  the  hall,  hs 
continued  : 

''Weill  since  I  see  the  Birds  are  flown,  I 
do  expect  from  you  that  you  sliall  send  them 
unto  me  as  soon  as  they  return  hither.  But  I 
assure  you,  on  the  Word  of  a  King,  I  never  did 
intend  any  Force,  hut  shall  proceed  against 
til  em  in  a  legal  and  fair  way,  for  I  never  meant 
any  otlier. 

*'  I  will  trouble  you  no  more,  but  tell  you  I 
do  expect,  as  soon  as  they  come  to  the  House, 
you  will  send  tliem  to  me,  otherwise  I  must 
take  my  own  course  to  find  them." 

The  king's  coming  thus  into  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  denuuidiiig  in  person  that  they 
should  act  according  to  his  instructions,  was  a 
very  extraordinary  circumstance — perhaps  un- 
paralleled in  Engiisli  history.  It  produced  the 
greatest  excitement.  When  he  had  finished 
liis  address,  lie  turned  to  the  speaker  and  asked 
liim  where  those  men  were.  He  had  his  guard 
ready  at  the  door  to  seize  them.  It  is  difficult 
for  us,  in  this  country,  to  understand  fully  to 
h(v,Y  severe  a  test  this  sudden  question  put  the 
presence  of  miiid  and  courage  of  the  speaker  ; 
for  we  cannot  realize  the  profound  and  awful 
deference  which  was  felt  in  those  days  for  the 
command  of  a  king.     The  speaker  gained  great 


Chart f  J.  J 


King  Charles  I.  and  t-he  Commone. 


CIVIL  WAR.  177 

applause  for  tlie  manner  in  whieli  he  stood  the 
trial.  He  fell  upon  his  knees  before  the  great 
potentate  who  had  addressed  him,  and  said, 
'•  I  have,  sir,  neither  eyes  to  see,  nor  tongue  to 
speak,  in  this  place,  but  as  the  House  is  pleased 
to  direct  me,  whose  servant  I  am.  And  I 
luimbly  ask  pardon  that  I  cannot  give  any 
other  answer  to  what  your  majesty  is  pleased 
to  demand  of  me." 

The  House  was  immediately  in  a  state  of 
great  excitement  and  confusion.  They  called 
out  '^Privilege!  privilege!"  meaning  that 
their  privileges  were  violated.  They  immedi- 
ately adjourned.  News  of  the  affair  spread 
everywhere  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  and 
])roduced  universal  and  intense  excitement. 
The  king's  friends  were  astonished  at  such  an 
act  of  rashness  and  folly,  which,  it  is  said,  only 
0)ie  of  the  king's  advisers  knew  anything  about, 
and  he  immediately  fled.  The  five  members 
accused  went  that  night  into  the  city  of  Lon- 
don, and  called  on  the  government  and  people 
of  London  to  protect  them.  The  people  armed 
themselves.  In  a  word,  the  king  found  at 
night  that  he  had  raised  a  very  threatening 
and  terrible  storm. 

The  Commons  met  the  next  morning,  but 
did  not  attempt  to  transact  business.  They 
simply  voted  that  it  was  useless  for  them  to 
proceed  with  their  deliberations,  while  exposed 


178  KING   CHARLES   I. 

to  such  violations  of  their  rights.  They  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  twenty-four  to  inquire 
into  and  report  the  circumstances  of  the  king's 
intrusion  into  their  councils,  and  to  consider 
how  this  breach  of  their  privileges  could  be  re- 
paired. They  ordered  this  committee  to  sit  in 
the  city  of  London,  where  they  might  hope  to 
be  safe  from  such  interruptions,  and  then  the 
House  adjourned  for  a  week,  to  await  the  re- 
sult of  the  committee's  deliberations. 

The  committee  went  to  London.  In  the 
mean  time  news  went  all  over  the  kingdom 
that  the  House  of  Commons  had  been  com- 
pelled to  suspend  its  sittings  on  account  of  an 
illegal  and  unwarrantable  interference  with 
their  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the  king.  The 
king  was  alarmed  ;  but  those  who  had  advised 
him  to  adopt  this  measure  told  him  that  he 
must  not  falter  now.  He  must  persevere  and 
carry  his  point,  or  all  would  be  lost. 

He  accordingly  did  persevere.  He  brought 
troops  and  arms  to  his  palace  at  Whitehall,  to 
be  ready  to  defend  it  in  case  of  attack.  He 
sent  in  to  London,  and  ordered  the  lord  mayor 
to  assemble  the  city-  authorities  at  the  Guild- 
hall, which  is  the  great  city  hall  of  London ; 
and  then,  with  a  retinue  of  noblemen,  he 
went  in  to  meet  them.  The  people  shouted, 
**  Privileges  of  Parliament !  privileges  of  Par- 
liamenf!"  as  he  passed  along.     Some  called 


CIVIL  WAR.  179 

out,  "  To  your  tents,  0  Israel!  ^'  which  was  the 
ancient  Hebrew  cry  of  rebellion.  The  king, 
however,  persevered.  Wlien  he  reached  the 
Guildhall,  he  addressed  the  city  authorities 
thus  : 

^'  Gentlemen, — I  am  come  to  demand  such 
Persons  as  I  have  already  accused  of  High 
Treason,  and  do  believe  are  shrouded  in  the 
City.  I  hope  no  good  Man  will  keep  them 
from  Me.  Their  Offenses  are  Treason  and 
Misdemeanors  of  a  high  Nature.  I  desire  your 
Assistance,  that  they  may  be  brought  to  a 
legal  Trial. '^  Three  days  after  this  the  king 
issued  a  proclamation,  addressed  to  all  magis- 
trates and  officers  of  justice  everywhere,  to 
arrest  the  accused  members  and  carry  them  to 
the  Tower. 

In  the  mean  time  the  committee  of  twenty- 
four  continued  their  session  in  London,  exam- 
ining witnesses  and  preparing  their  report. 
When  the  time  arrived  for  the  House  of  Com- 
mons to  meet  again,  which  was  on  the  11th  of 
January,  the  city  made  preparations  to  have 
the  committee  escorted  in  an  imposing  manner 
from  the  Guildhall  to  Westminster.  A  vast 
amount  of  the  intercommunication  and  traffic 
between  different  portions  of  the  city  then,  as 
now,  took  place  upon  the  river,  though  in  those 
days  it  was  managed  by  watermen,  who  rowed 
email  wherries  to  and  fro..    Innumerable  steam- 


180  KING   CHARLES  I. 

boats  take  the  place  of  the  wherries  at  the 
present  day,  and  stokers  and  engineers  have 
superseded  the  watermen.  The  watermen 
were  then,  however,,  a  large  and  formidable 
body,  banded  together,  like  the  other  trades  of 
London,  in  one  great  organization.  This  great 
company  turned  out  on  this  occasion,  and 
attended  the  committee  in  barges  on  the 
river,  while  the  military  companies  of  the  city 
marched  along  the  streets  upon  the  land.  The 
committee  themselves  went  in  barges  on  the 
water,  and  all  London  flocked  to  see  the  spec- 
tacle. The  king,  hearing  of  these  arrange- 
ments, was  alarmed  for  his  personal  safety, 
and  left  his  palace  at  Whitehall  to  go  to 
Hampton  Court,  which  was  a  little  way  out  of 
town. 

The  committee,  after  entering  the  House, 
reported  that  the  transactions  which  they  had 
been  considering  constituted  a  high  breach  of 
the  privileges  of  the  House,  and  was  a  seditious 
act,  tending  to  a  subversion  of  the  peace  of  the 
kingdom  ;  and  that  the  privileges  of  Parlia- 
ment, so  violated  and  broken,  could  not  be 
sufficiently  vindicated,  unless  his  majesty 
would  be  pleased  to  inform  them  who  advised 
him  to  do  such  a  deed. 

The  king  was  more  and  more  seriously 
alarmed.  He  found  that  the  storm  of  public 
odium  and  indignation  was  too  great  for  him 


CIVIL  WAR.  181 

to  withstand.  He  began  to  fear  for  his  own 
safety  more  than  ever.  He  removed  from 
Hampton  Court  to  Windsor  Castle,  a  stronger 
place,  and  more  remote  from  London  than 
Ilampton  Court ;  and  he  now  determined  to 
give  up  the  contest.  He  sent  a  message,  there- 
fore, to  the  House,  saying  that,  on  further  re- 
tlection,  since  so  many  persons  had  doubts 
whether  Iiis  proceedings  against  the  five  mem- 
bers were  consistent  with  the  privileges  of 
Parliament,  he  would  waive  them,  and  the 
whole  subject  might  rest  until  the  minds  of 
men  were  more  composed,  and  then,  if  he  pro- 
ceeded against  tlie  accused  members  at  all,  he 
would  do  so  in  a  manner  to  which  no  exception 
could  be  taken.  He  said,  also,  he  would  hence- 
forth be  as  careful  of  their  privileges  as  he 
sliould  be  of  his  own  life  or  crown. 

Thus  he  acknowledged  himself  vanquished 
in  tlie  struggle,  but  the  acknowledgment  came 
too  late  to  save  him.  The  excitement  increased, 
and  spread  in  every  direction.  The  party  of 
the  king  and  that  of  the  Parliament  disputed 
for  a  few  months  about  these  occurrences,  and 
others  growing  out  of  them,  and  then  each 
began  to  maneuver  and  struggle  to  get  posses- 
sion of  the  military  power  of  the  kingdom. 
The  king,  finding  himself  not  safe  in  the 
vicinity  of  London,  retreated  to  York,  an(| 
began  to  assemble  and  organize  his  followers. 


182  KING   CHARLES  I. 

Parliament  sent  him  a  declaration  that  if  he 
did  not  disband  the  forces  which  he  was  assem- 
bling, they  should  be  compelled  to  provide 
measures  for  securing  the  peace  of  the  king- 
dom. The  king  replied  by  proclamations  call- 
ing upon  his  subjects  to  join  his  standard.  In 
a  word,  before  midsummer,  the  country  was 
plunged  in  the  horrors  of  civil  war. 

A  civil  war,  that  is,  a  war  between  two 
parties  in  the  same  country,  is  generally  far 
more  savage  and  sanguinary  than  any  other. 
Tlie  hatred  and  the  animosities  which  it  cre- 
ates, ramify  throughout  the  country,  and  pro- 
duce universal  conflict  and  misery.  If  there 
were  a  war  between  France  and  England, 
tliere  might  be  one,  or  perhaps  two  invading 
armies  of  Frenchmen  attempting  to  penetrate 
into  the  interior.  All  England  would  be  united 
against  them.  Husbands  and  wives,  parents 
and  children,  neighbors  and  friends,  would  be 
drawn  together  more  closely  than  ever  ;  while 
tlie  awful  scenes  of  war  and  bloodshed,  the 
excitement,  the  passion,  the  terror,  would  be 
confined  to  a  few  detached  spots,  or  to  a  few 
lines  of  march  which  the  invading  armies  had 
occupied. 

In  a  civil  war,  however,  it  is  very  different. 
Every  distinct  portion  of  the  country,  every 
village  and  hamlet,  and  sometimes  almost  eve-ry 
family,  is  divided  against  itself.     The  hostility 


CIVIL  WAR.  183 

fliul  hatred,  too,  between  the  combatants,  is 
alw.'iys  far  more  intense  and  bitter  than  that 
which  is  felt  against  a  foreign  foe.  AVe  might 
at  first  be  surprised  at  this.  We  might  imagine 
that  where  men  are  contending  witli  their 
neighbors  and  fellow-townsmen,  the  recollec- 
tion of  past  friendships  and  good-will,  and 
various  lingering  ties  of  regard,  would  moder- 
ate the  fierceness  of  their  anger,  and  make 
tliem  more  considerate  and  forbearing.  But 
this  is  not  found  to  be  the  case.  Each  party 
considers  the  other  as  not  only  enemies,  but 
traitors,  and  accordingly  they  hate  and  abhor 
L'ach  other  with  a  double  intensity.  If  an 
Englishman  has  a  Frencliman  to  combat,  he 
meets  him  with  a  murderous  impetuosity,  it  is 
true,  but  without  any  special  bitterness  of 
animosity.  lie  expects  the  Frencliman  to  be 
his  enemy.  He  even  thinks  he  has  a  sort  of 
natural  right  to  be  so.  He  will  kill  him  if  he 
can  ;  but  then,  if  he  takes  him  prisoner,  there 
is  nothing  in  his  feelings  toward  him  to  pre- 
vent his  treating  him  with  generosity,  and 
even  with  kindness.  He  hates  him,  but  there 
is  a  sort  of  good-nature  in  his  hatred,  after  nil. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  he  fights  against  his 
countrymen  in  a  civil  war,  he  abhors  and  hates 
witli  unmingled  bitterness  the  traitorous  ingrati- 
tude which  he  thinks  his  neighbors  and  friends 
evince  in   turning  enemies  to  their  country. 


184  KING  CHARLES  I. 

He  can  see  no  honesty,  no  truth,  no  courage 
in  anything  they  do.  They  are  infinitely  Worse, 
in  his  estimation,  than  the  most  ferocious 
of  foreign  foes.  Civil  war  is,  consequently,  al- 
ways the  means  of  far  wider  and  more  ter- 
rible mischief  than  any  other  human  calamity. 

In  the  contention  between  Charles  and  the 
Parliament,  the  various  elements  of  the  social 
state  adhered  to  one  side  or  the  other,  according 
to  their  natural  predilections.  The  Episco- 
palians generally  joined  the  king,  the  Presby- 
terians the  Parliament.  The  gentry  and  the 
nobility  favored  the  king ;  the  mechanics, 
artisans,  merchants,  and  common  people  the 
Parliament.  The  rural  districts  of  country, 
which  were  under  the  control  of  the  great 
landlords,  the  king  ;  the  cities  and  towns,  the 
Parliament.  The  gay,  and  fashionable,  and 
worldly,  the  king;  the  serious-minded  and 
austere,  the  Parliament.  Thus  everything 
was  divided.  The  quarrel  ramified  to  every 
hamlet  and  to  every  fireside,  and  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  the  realm  were  effectually  des- 
troyed. 

Both  sides  began  to  raise  armies  and  to  pre- 
pare for  war.  Before  commencing  hostilities, 
however,  the  king  was  persuaded  by  his  coun- 
selors to  send  a  messenger  to  London  and  pro- 
pose some  terms  of  accommodation.  He  ac- 
cordingly sent  the  Earl  of  Southampton  to  the 


CITIL  WAR.  185 

House  of  Peers,  and  two  other  persons  to  th»^ 
House  of  Commons.  He  had  no  expectation, 
probably,  of  making  peace,  but  he  wanted  to 
gain  time  to  get  his  army  together,  and  also  to 
strengthen  his  cause  among  the  people  by 
showing  a  disposition  to  do  all  in  his  power  to 
avoid  open  war.  The  messengers  of  the  king 
went  to  London,  and  made  their  appearance  in 
the  two  houses  of  Parliament. 

The  House  of  Lords  ordered  the  Earl  of 
Southampton  to  withdraw,  and  to  send  hi» 
communication  in  in  writing,  and  in  the  mean 
time  to  retire  out  of  London,  and  wait  for 
their  answer.  The  House  of  Commons,  in  the 
same  spirit  of  hostility  and  defiance,  ordered 
the  messengers  which  had  been  sent  to  them 
to  come  to  the  bar,  like  humble  petitioners  or 
criminals,  and  make  their  communication 
there. 

The  propositions  of  the  king  to  the  houses 
of  Parliament  were,  that  they  should  appoint 
a  certain  number  of  commissioners,  and  he  also 
the  same  number,  to  meet  and  confer  together, 
in  hope  of  agreeing  upon  some  conditions  of 
peace.  The  houses  passed  a  vote  in  reply,  de- 
claring that  they  had  been  doing  ail  in  their 
power  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  kingdom, 
while  the  king  had  been  interrupting  and  dis- 
turbing it  by  his  military  gatherings,  and  by 
proclamations,  in  which  they  were  called  trai- 

14— Charles  I. 


186  KING   CHARLES   I. 

tors  :  and  that  they  could  enter  into  no  treaty 
with  him  until  he  disbanded  the  armies  which 
he  had  collected, and  recalled  his  proclamations. 

To  this  the  king  replied  that  he  had  never 
intended  to  call  them  traitors  ;  and  that  when 
they  would  recall  their  declarations  and  votes 
stigmatizing  those  who  adhered  to  him  as  trai- 
tors, he  would  recall  his  proclamations.  Thus 
messages  passed  back  and  forth  two  or  three 
times,  each  party  criminating  the  other,  and 
neither  willing  to  make  the  concessions  which 
the  other  required.  At  last  all  hope  of  an  ac- 
commodation w^as  abandoned,  and  both  sides 
prepared  for  war. 

The  nobility  and  gentry  flocked  to  the  king's 
standard.  They  brought  their  plate,  their  jew- 
els, and  their  money  to  provide  funds.  Some 
of  them  brought  their  servants.  There  were 
two  companies  in  the  king's  guard,  one  of  which 
consisted  of  gentlemen,  and  the  other  of  their 
servants.  These  two  companies  were  always 
kept  together.  There  was  the  greatest  zeal 
and  enthusiasm  among  the  upper  classes  to 
serve  the  king,  and  equal  zeal  and  enthusiasm 
among  the  common  people  to  serve  the  Parlia- 
ment. The  w^ar  continued  for  four  years. 
During  all  this  time  the  armies  marched  and 
countermarched  all  over  the  kingdom,  carrying 
ruin  and  destruction  wherever  they  went,  and 
plunging  the  wdiole  country  in  misery. 


CIVIL   WAR.  187 

At  one  of  tlio  battles  which  was  fought,  the 
celebrated  John  Hampden,  the  man  who  would 
not  pay  his  ship  money,  was  slain.  He  had 
been  a  very  energetic  and  efficient  officer  on 
tlie  Tarliamentary  side,  and  was  much  dreaded 
by  the  forces  of  the  king.  At  one  of  the  battles 
between  Prince  Rupert,  Charles's  nephew,  and 
the  army  of  the  Parliament,  the  prince  brought 
to  the  king's  camp  a  large  number  of  prisoners 
which  he  had  t-iken.  One  pi  the  prisoners  said 
he  was  confider.t  that  Hampden  was  hurt,  for 
he  saw  him  riding  off  the  field  before  the  battle 
was  over,  with  his  head  hanging  down,  and  his 
hands  clasping  the  neck  of  his  horse.  They 
heard  the  next  day  that  he  had  been  wounded 
in  the  shoulder.  Inflammation  and  fever  en- 
sued, and  he  died  a  few  days  afterward  in 
great  agony. 

This  Prince  Rupert  was  a  very  famous  char- 
Acter  in  all  these  wars.  He  was  young  and  ar-t 
dent,  and  full  of  courage  and  enthusiasm.  H* 
was  always  foremost  and  ready  to  embark  in 
the  most  daring  undertakings.  He  was  tho 
son  of  the  king's  sister  Elizabeth,  who  married 
the  Elector  Palatine,  as  narrated  in  a  preceding 
chapter.  He  was  famous  not  only  for  his  mil- 
itary skill  and  attainments,  but  for  his  knowl- 
edge of  science,  and  for  his  ingenuity  in  man} 
philosophical  arts.  There  is  a  mode  of  engrav% 
ing  called  mezzotinto,  which  is  somewhat  easier 


188  KING   CHARLES   I. 

of  execution  than  the  common  mode,  and  pro- 
duces a  peculiar  effect.  Prince  Eupert  is  said 
to  have  been  the  inventor  of  it,  though,  as  is 
the  case  with  almost  all  other  inventions,  there 
is  a  dispute  about  it.  He  discovered  a  mode 
of  dropping  melted  glass  into  water  so  as  to 
form  little  pear-shaped  globules,  with  a  long 
slender  tail.  These  globules  have  this  remark- 
able property,  that  if  the  tip  of  the  tail  is  bro- 
ken  off  ever  so 'gently,  the  whole  flies  into 
atoms  with  an  explosion.  These  drops  of  glass 
are  often  exhibited  at  the  present  day,  and  are 
called  Prince  Eupert's  drops.  The  prince  also 
discovered  a  very  tenacious  composition  of  met- 
als for  casting  cannon.  As  artillery  is  neces- 
sarily very  heavy,  and  very  difficult  to  be  trans- 
ported on  marches  and  upon  the  field  of  battle, 
it  becomes  very  important  to  discover  such  me- 
tallic compounds  as  have  the  greatest  strength 
and  tenacity  in  resisting  the  force  of  an  explo- 
sion. Prince  Eupert  invented  such  a  com- 
pound, which  is  called  by  his  name. 

There  were  not  only  a  great  many  battles 
and  fierce  encounters  between  the  two  great 
parties  in  this  civil  war,  but  there  were  also, 
at  times,  temporary  cessations  of  the  hostilities, 
and  negotiations  for  peace.  But  it  is  very 
hard  to  make  peace  between  two  powers  en- 
gaged in  civil  war.  Each  considers  the  other 
as  acting  the  part  of  rebels  and  traitors,  an4 


CIVIL  WAR.  189 

there  is  a  difficulty,  almost  insuperable,  in  the 
way  of  even  opening  negotiations  between 
them.  Still  the  people  became  tired  of  the  war. 
At  one  time,  when  the  king  had  made  some 
propositions  which  the  Parliament  would  not 
accept,  an  immense  assemblage  of  women  col- 
lected together,  with  white  ribbons  in  their 
hats,  to  go  to  the  House  of  Commons  with  a 
petition  for  peace.  When  they  reached  the 
door  of  the  hall  their  number  was  five  thou- 
sand. They  called  out,  *' Peace  !  peace  !' 
Give  us  those  traitors  that  are  against  peace, 
that  we  may  tear  them  to  pieces."  The  guards 
who  were  stationed  at  the  door  were  ordered  to 
fire  at  this  crowd,  loading  their  guns,  however, 
only  with  powder.  This,  it  was  thought, 
would  frighten  them  away;  but  the  women 
only  laughed  at  the  volley,  and  returned  it 
with  si^^ones  and  brick-bats,  and  drove  the 
guards  away.  Other  troops  were  then  sent  for, 
who  charged  upon  the  women  with  their 
swords,  and  cut  them  in  their  faces  and  hands, 
and  thus  at  length  dispersed  them. 

During  the  progress  of  the  war,  the  queen 
returned  from  the  Continent  and  joined  the 
king.  She  had  some  difficulty,  hoAvever,  and 
encountered  some  personal  danger,  in  her 
efforts  to  return  to  her  husband.  The  vice- 
admiral,  who  had  command  of  the  English 
ships  off  the  coast,  received  orders  to  intercept 


190  KING   CHARLES    t. 

her.  He  watched  for  her.  She  contrived, 
however,  to  elude  his  vigilance,  though  there 
were  four  ships  in  her  convoy.  She  landed  at 
a  town  called  Burlington,  or  Bridlington,  in 
Yorkshire.  This  town  stands  in  a  very  pic- 
turesque situation,  a  little  south  of  the  famous 
promontory  called  Flamborough  Head,  of  which 
there  is  a  beautiful  view  from  the  pier  of  the 
town. 

The  queen  succeeded  in  landing  here.  On 
her  arrival  at  the  town,  she  found  herself  worn 
down  with  the  anxiety  and  fatigue  of  the  voy- 
age, and  she  wanted  to  stop  a  few  days  to  rest. 
She  took  up  her  residence  in  a  house  which  was 
on  the  quay,  and,  of  course,  near  the  water. 
The  quay,  as  it  is  called,  in  these  towns,  is  a 
street  on  the  margin  of  the  water,  with  a  wall, 
but  no  houses  next  the  sea.  The  vice-admiral 
arrived  at  the  town  the  second  night  after  the 
queen  had  landed.  He  was  vexed  that  his 
expected  prize  had  escaped  him.  He  brought 
his  ships  up  near  to  the  town,  and  began  to 
fire  toward  the  house  in  which  the  queen  was 
lodging. 

This  was  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  queen  and  her  attendants  were  in  their 
beds,  asleep.  The  reports  of  the  cannon  from 
the  ships,  the  terrific  whistling  of  the  balls 
through  the  air,  and  the  crash  of  the  houses 
which  the  balls  struck,  aroused  the  whole  vil- 


CIVIL   WAR.  191 

lage  from  their  slumbers,  and  threw  them  into 
consternation.  The  people  soon  came  to  the 
house  where  the  queen  was  lodging,  and  begged 
her  to  fly.  They  said  that  the  neighboring 
houses  were  blown  to  pieces,  and  that  her  own 
would  soon  be  destroyed,  and  she  herself  would 
be  killed.  They  may,  however,  have  been  in- 
fluenced more  by  a  regard  to  their  own  safety 
than  to  hers  in  these  injunctions,  as  it  must 
have  been  a  great  object  with  the  villagers  to 
effect  the  immediate  removal  of  a  visitor  who 
was  the  means  of  bringing  upon  them  so  terri- 
ble a  danger. 

These  urgent  entreaties  of  the  villagers  were 
soon  enforced  by  two  cannon-balls,  which  fell, 
one  after  another,  upon  the  roof  of  the  house, 
and,  crashing  their  way  through  the  roof  and 
the  floors,  went  down,  without  seeming  to  re- 
gard the  resistance,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom. 
The  queen  hastily  put  on  her  clothes,  and  went 
forth  with  her  attendants  on  foot,  the  balls 
from  the  ships  whistling  after  them  all  the 
way. 

One  of  her  servants  was  killed.  The  rest  of 
the  fugitives,  finding  their  exposure  so  great, 
stopped  at  a  sort  of  trench  which  they  came 
to,  at  the  end  of  a  field,  such  as  is  dug  com- 
monly, in  England,  on  one  side  of  the  hedge, 
to  make  the  barrier  more  impassable  to  the 
animals  which  it  is  intended  to  confine.     This 


192  KING   CHARLES   I. 

trench,  with  the  embankment  formed  by  the 
(iiivth  thrown  out  of  it,  on  which  the  hedge 
is  usually  planted,  afforded  them  protection. 
They  sought  shelter  in  it,  and  remained  there 
for  two  hours,  like  besiegers  in  the  approaches 
to  a  town,  the  balls  passing  over  their  heads 
harmlessly,  though  sometimes  covering  them 
with  the  earth  which  they  threw  up  as  they 
bounded  by.  At  length  the  tide  began  to 
ebb,  and  the  vice-admiral  was  in  danger  oi 
being  left  aground.  He  weighed  his  anchors 
and  withdrew,  and  the  queen  and  her  part;y 
were  relieved.  Such  a  cannonading  of  a  help- 
less and  defenseless  woman  is  a  barbarity  whicli 
could  hardly  take  place  except  in  a  civil  war. 

The  queen  rejoined  her  husband,  and  sh( 
rendered  him  essential  service  in  many  ways. 
She  had  personal  influence  enough  to  raise  botl 
money  and  men  for  his  armies,  and  so  con» 
tributed  very  essentially  to  the  strength  of  hu 
party.  At  last  she  returned  to  the  Continent 
again,  and  went  to  Paris,  where  she  was  still 
actively  employed  in  promoting  his  cause.  At 
one  of  the  battles  in  which  the  king  was  de- 
feated, the  Parliamentary  army  seized  his 
baggage,  and  found  among  his  papers  his  cor- 
respondence with  the  queen.  They  very  ungen- 
erously ordered  it  to  be  published,  as  the  letters 
seemed  to  show  a  ^^igorous  determination  on 
the  part  of  the  knig  not  to  yield  in  the  contest 


An  Incident  in  the  Civil  War, 


CIVIL  WAR.  193 

witlioufc  obtaining  from  the  Parliament  and  its 
adherents  full  and  ample  concessions  to  his 
claims. 

As  time  rolled  on,  the  strength  of  the  royal 
party  gradually  wasted  away,  while  that  of 
Parliament  seemed  to  increase,  until  it  became 
evident  that  the  latter  would,  in  the  end,  ob- 
tain the  victory.  The  king  retreated  from 
place  to  place,  followed  by  his  foes,  and  grow- 
ing weaker  and  more  discouraged  after  every 
conflict.  His  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  was 
then  about  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  sent  him 
to  the  western  part  of  the  island,  Avith  direc- 
tions that,  if  affairs  should  still  go  against  him, 
the  boy  should  be  taken  in  time  out  of  the 
country,  and  join  his  mother  in  Paris.  The 
danger  grew  more  and  more  imminent,  and 
they  who  had  charge  of  the  young  prince  sent 
him  first  to  Scilly,  and  then  to  Jersey — islands 
in  the  Channel — whence  he  made  his  escape  to 
Paris,  and  joined  his  mother.  Fifteen  years 
afterward  he  returned  to  London  with  great 
pomp  and  parade,  and  was  placed  upon  the 
throne  by  universal  acclamation. 

At  last  the  king  himself,  after  being  driven 
from  one  place  of  refuge  to  another,  retreated 
to  Oxford  and  intrenched  himself  there.  Hero 
he  spent  the  winter  of  1646  in  extreme  depres- 
sion and  distress.  His  friends  deserted  him  ; 
his  resources  were  expended ;  his  hopes  were 


194  KING   CHARLES  T. 

extinguished.  He  sent  proposals  of  peace  to 
the  Parliament,  and  offered,  himself,  to  come 
to  London,  if  they  would  grant  him  a  safe-con- 
duct. In  reply,  they  forbade  him  to  come. 
They  would  listen  to  no  propositions,  and  would 
make  no  terms.  The  case,  they  saw,  was  in  their 
own  hands,  and  they  determined  on  uncondi- 
tional submission.  They  hemmed  the  king  in 
on  all  sides  at  his  retreat  in  Oxford,  and  re- 
duced him  to  despair. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Scots,  a  year  or  two 
before  this,  had  raised  an  army  and  crossed  the 
northern  frontier,  and  entered  England.  They 
were  against  monarchy  and  Episcopacy,  but 
they  were,  in  some  respects,  a  separate  enemy 
from  those  against  whom  the  king  had  been 
contending  so  long ;  and  he  began  to  think  that 
he  had  perhaps  better  fall  into  their  hands  than 
into  those  of  his  English  foes,  if  he  must  sub- 
mit to  one  or  to  the  other.  He  hesitated  for 
some  time  what  course  to  take ;  but  at  last, 
after  receiving  representations  of  the  favorable 
feeling  which  prevailed  in  regard  to  him  in  the 
Scottish  army,  he  concluded  to  make  his  escape 
from  Oxford  and  surrender  himself  to  them. 
He  accordingly  did  so,  and  the  civil  war  was 
ended. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE   CAPTIVITY. 

The  circumstances  of  King  Charles's  sur- 
render to^  the  Scots  were  these.  He  knew 
that  he  was  surrounded  by  his  enemies  in 
Oxford,  and  that  they  woukl  not  allow  him  to 
escape  if  they  could  prevent  it.  He  and  his 
friends,  therefore,  formed  the  following  plan  to 
elude  them. 

Tliey  sent  word  to  the  commanders  of  each 
of  the  several  gates  of  the  city,  on  a  certain  day, 
that  during  the  ensuing  night  three  men  would 
have  to  pass  out  on  business  of  the  king's,  and 
that  when  the  men  should  appear  and  give  a 
certain  signal,  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  pass. 
The  officer  at  each  gate  received  this  command 
without  knowing  that  a  similar  one  had  been 
sent  to  the  others. 

Accordingly,  about  midnight,  the  parties  of 

men  were  despatched,  and  they  went  out  at  the 

several  gates.     The  king  himself  was  in  one  of 

these  parties.     There  were  two  other  persons 

with  him.     One  of  these  persons  was  a  certain 

195 


196  KING  CHARLES   I. 

Mr.  Ashburnham,  and  the  king  was  disguised 
as  his  servant.  They  were  all  on  horseback, 
and  the  king  had  a  valise  upon  the  horse  be- 
hind him,  so  as  to  complete  his  disguise.  Thia 
was  on  the  27th  of  April.  The  next  day,  or 
very  soon  after,  it  was  known  at  Oxford  that 
his  majesty  was  gone,  but  no  one  could  tell  in 
what  direction,  for  there  was  no  means  even  of 
deciding  by  which  of  the  gates  he  had  left  the 
city. 

The  Scotch  were,  at  this  time,  encamped  be- 
fore the  town  of  Newark,  which  is  on  the  Trent, 
in  the  heart  of  England,  and  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  north  of  London*  There 
was  a  magnificent  castle  at  Newark  in  those 
days,  which  made  the  place  very  strong.  The 
town  held  out  for  the  king  ;  for,  though  they 
had  been  investing  it  for  some  time,  they  had 
not  yet  succeeded  in  compelling  the  governor 
to  surrender.  The  king  concluded  to  proceed 
to  Newark  and  enter  the  Scottish  camp.  He 
considered  it,  or,  rather,  tried  to  have  it  con- 
sidered, that  he  was  coming  to  join  them  as 
their  monarch.  They  were  going  to  consider 
it  surrendering  to  them  as  their  prisoner.  The 
king  himself  must  have  known  how  it  would 
be,  but  it  made  his  sense  of  humiliation  a  little 
less  poignant  to  carry  this  illusion  with  him  as 
long  as  it  was  possible  to  maintain  it. 

As  soon  as  the  Parliament  found  that  the 


THET  CAPTIVITY.  197 

king  had  made  his  escape  from  Oxford,  they 
were  alarmed,  and  on  the  4th  of  May  they  is- 
sued an  order  to  tliis  effect,  '^  That  what  per- 
son soever  should  harbor  and  conceal,  or  should 
know  of  the  harboring  or  concealing  of  the 
king's  person,  and  should  not  immediately  re- 
veal it  to  the  speakers  of  both  houses,  should  be 
proceeded  against  as  a  traitor  to  the  Common- 
wealth, and  die  without  mercy."  The  proc- 
lamation of  this  opder,  however,  did  not  result 
ill  arresting  the  flight  of  the  king.  On  the  day 
after  it  was  issued,  he  arrived  safely  art  Newark. 

The  Scottish  general,  whose  name  was  Les- 
ley, immediately  represented  to  the  king  that 
for  his  own  safety  it  was  necessary  that  they 
should  retire  toward  the  northern  frontier  ;  but 
they  could  not  so  retire,  he  said,  unless  New- 
ark should  first  surrender.  They  accordingly 
induced  the  king  to  send  in  orders  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  castle  to  give  up  the  place.  TJie 
Scots  took  possession  of  it,  and,  after  having 
garrisoned  it,  moved  with  their  army  toward 
tlie  north,  the  king  and  General  Lesley  being 
hi  the  van. 

They  treated  the  king  with  great  distinction, 
but  guarded  him  very  closely,  and  sent  word  to 
the  Parliament  that  he  was  in  their  possession. 
Tliere  ensued  long  negotiations  and  much  de- 
bate. The  question  Avas,  at  first,  whether  the 
Knglish  or  Scotch  should  have  the  disposal  of 


198  KING  CHARLES  I. 

the  king's  person.  The  English  said  that  they^ 
and  not  the  Scots,  were  the  party  making  war 
upon  him  ;  that  they  had  conquered  his  armies, 
and  hemmed  him  in,  and  reduced  him  to  the 
necessity  of  submission  ;  and  that  he  had  been 
taken  captive  on  English  soil,  and  ought,  con- 
sequently, to  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
English  Parliament.  The  Scots  replied  that 
though  he  had  been  taken  in  England,  he '  was 
their  king  as  well  as  the  king  of  England,  and 
had  made  himself  their  enemy  ;  and  that,  as  he 
had  fallen,  into  their  hands,  he  ought  to  remain 
at  their  disposal.  To  this  the  English  rejoined, 
that  the  Scots,  in  taking  him,  had  not  acted  on 
their  own  account,  but  as  the  allies,  and,  as  it 
were,  the  agents  of  the  English,  and  that  they 
ought  to  consider  the  king  as  a  captive  taken 
for  them,  and  hold  him  subject  to  their  dis- 
posal. / 

They  could  not  settle  the  question.  In  the 
meantime  the  Scottish  army  drew  back  toward 
the  frontier,  taking  the  king  with  them.  About 
this  time  a  negotiation  sprung  up  between  the 
Parliament  and  the  Scots  for  the  payment  of 
the  expenses  which  the  Scottish  army  liad  in- 
curred in  their  campaign.  The  Scots  sent  in 
an  account  amounting  to  two  millions  of 
pounds.  The  English  objected  to  a  great 
many  of  the  charges,  and  offered  them  two 
hundred  thousand  pounds.     Finally  it  was  set- 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  199 

tied  that  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  should 
be  paid.  This  arrangement  was  made  early  in 
September.  In  January  the  Scots  agreed  to 
give  up  the  king  into  the  hands  of  the  English 
Parliament. 

The  world  accused  the  Scots  of  selling  their 
king  to  his  enemies  for  four  hundred  thousand 
pounds.  The  Scots  denied  that  there  was  any 
connection  between  the  two  transactions  above 
referred  to.  They  received  the  money  on  ac- 
count of  their  just  claims  ;  and  they  afterward 
agreed  to  deliver  up  the  king,  because  they 
tliought  it  right  and  proper  so  to  do.  The 
friends  of  the  king,  however,  were  never  satis- 
fied that  there  was  not  a  secret  understanding 
between  the  parties,  that  the  money  paid  was 
not  the  price  of  the  king's  delivery ;  and  as 
this  delivery  resulted  in  his  death,  they  called 
it  the  price  of  blood. 

Charles  was  at  Newcastle  when  they  came 
to  this  decision.  His  mind  had  been  more  at 
ease  since  his  surrender  to  the  Scots,  and  he 
was  accustomed  to  amuse  himself  and  while 
away  the  time  of  his  captivity  by  various  games. 
He  was  playing  chess  when  the  intelligence 
was  brought  to  him  that  he  was  to  be  delivered 
up  to  tlie  English  Parliament.  It  was  com- 
municated to  him  in  a  letter.  He  read  it,  and 
then  went  on  with  his  game,  and  none  of  those 
around  him  could  perceive  by  his  air  and  man- 


200  KING   CHARLES  I. 

ner  that  the  intelligence  which  the  letter  con- 
tained was  anything  extraordinary.  Perhaps 
he  was  not  aware  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
change  in  his  condition  and  prospects  which 
the  communication  announced. 

There  was  at  this  time,  at  a  town  called 
Holmby  or  Holdenby,  in  Northamptonshire,  a 
beautiful  palace  which  was  known  by  the  name 
of  Holmby  House.  King  Charles's  mother  had 
purchased  this  palace  for  him  when  he  was  the 
Duke  of  York,  in  the  early  part  of  his  life, 
while  his  father,  King  James,  was  on  the 
throne,  and  his  older  brother  was  the  heir  ap- 
parent. It  was  a  very  stately  and  beautiful 
edifice.  The  house  was  fitted  up  in  a  very 
handsome  manner,  and  all  suitable  accommo-  • 
dations  provided  for  the  king's  reception.  He 
had  many  attendants,  and  every  desirable  con- 
venience and  luxury  of  living  ;  but,  though  the 
war  was  over,  there  was  still  kept  up  between 
the  king  and  his  enemies  a  petty  contest  about 
forms  and  punctilios,  which  resulted  from  the 
spirit  of  intolerance  which  characterized  the 
age.  The  king  wanted  his  own  Episcopal  chap- 
lains. The  Parliament  would  not  consent  to 
this,  but  sent  him  two  Presbyterian  chaplains. . 
The  king  would  not  allow  them  to  say  grace  at 
the  table,  but  performed  this  duty  himself; 
and  on  the  Sabbath,  when  they  preacljed  in  his 
chapel,  he  never  would  attend. 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  201 

One  singular  instance  of  this  sort  of  bigotry, 
and  of  the  king's  presence  of  mind  under  the 
action  of  it,  took  place  while  the  king  was  at 
Newcastle.  They  took  liim  one  day  to  the 
chapel  in  the  castle  to  he^ir  a  Scotch  Presby- 
terian who  was  preaching  to  the  garrison.  The 
Scotcliman  preached  a  long  discourse  pointed 
expressly  at  tlie  king.  Tliose  preachers  prided 
themselves  on  the  fearlessness  with  which, 
on  such  occasions,  they  discharged  what  they 
called  their  duty.  To  cap  the  climax  of  his 
faithfulness,  tlie  preacher  gave  out,  at  the 
close  of  the  sermon,  the  hymn,  thus:  "We 
will  sing  the  fifty-first  Psalm  : 

*'  *  Why  dost  thou,  tyrant,  boast  thyself, 
Tliy  wioked  works  to  praise  ? ' " 

As  the  congregation  were  about  to  com- 
mence the  singing,  the  king  cast  his  eye  along 
the  page,  and  found  in  the  fifty-sixth  hymn 
one  which  he  tliought  would  be  more  appro- 
priate, lie  rose,  and  said,  in  a  very  audible 
manner,  "  We  will  sing  the  Mty-sixth  Psalm  : 

*'  *  Have  mercy,  Lord,  on  me  I  pray, 
For  men  would  me  devour.' " 

The  congregation,  moved  by  a  sudden  im- 
pulse of  religious  generosity  extremely  unusual 
in  those  days,  immediately  sang  the  psalm 
which  the  king  had  chosen. 


202  KING  CHARLES  T. 

While  he  was  at  ITolmby  the  king  used 
sometimes  to  go,  escorted  by  a  guard,  to  cer- 
tain neighboring  villages  where  there  were 
bowling-greens.  One  day,  while  he  was  going 
on  one  of  these  excursions,  a  man,  in  the  dress 
of  a  laborer,  appeared  standing  on  a  bridge  as 
he  passed,  and  handed  him  a  packet.  The 
commissioners  who  had  charge  of  Charles — for 
some  of  them  always  attended  him  on  these 
excursions — seized  the  man.  The  packet  was 
from  the  queen.  The  king  told  the  commis- 
sioners that  the  letter  was  only  to  ask  him 
some  question  about  the  disposal  of  his  son, 
the  young  prince,  Tfho  was  then  with  her  in 
Paris.  They  seemed  satisfied,  but  they  sent 
the  disguised  messenger  to  London,  and  the 
Parliament  committed  him  to  prison,  and  sent 
down  word  to  dismiss  all  Charles's  own  attend- 
ants, and  to  keep  him  thenceforth  in  more 
strict  confinement. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Parliament,  having 
finished  the  war,  were  ready  to  disband  the 
army.  But  the  army  did  not  want  to  be  dis- 
banded. They  would  not  be  disbanded.  The 
officers  knew  very  well  th^at  if  their  troops  were 
dismissed,  and  they  were  to  return  to  their 
homes  as  private  citizens,  all  their  importance 
would  be  gone.  There  followed  long  debates 
and  negotiations  between  the  army  and  the 
Parliament,  which  ended,  at  last,  in  an  open 


f'karle*  I./ac«p.  302 


Oliver  Cromwell. 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  203 

rupture.  It  is  almost  always  so  at  the  end  of 
a  revolution.  The  military  power  is  found  to 
have  become  too  strong  for  the  civil  institu- 
tions of  the  country  to  control  it. 

Oliver  Cromwell,  who  afterward  became  so 
distinguished  in  the  days  of  the  Common- 
wealth, was  at  this  time  becoming  the  most  influ- 
ential leader  of  the  army.  He  was  not  the  com- 
mander-in-chief in  form,  but  he  was  the  great 
planner  and  manager  in  fact.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  sternness  and  energy  of  character,  and 
was  always  ready  for  the  most  prompt  and  dar- 
ing action.  He  conceived  the  design  of  seizing 
the  king's  person  at  Holmby,  so  as  to  take  him 
away  from  the  control  of  the  Parliament,  and 
transfer  him  to  that  of  the  army.  This  plan 
was  executed  on  the  4th  of  June,  about  two 
months  after  the  king  had  been  taken  to 
Holmby  House.  The  abduction  was  effected 
in  the  following  manner. 

Cromwell  detached  a  strong  party  of  choice 
troops,  under  the  command  of  an  officer  by  the 
name  of  Joyce,  to  carry  the  plan  into  effect. 
These  troops  were  all  horsemen,  so  that  their 
movements  could  be  made  with  the  greatest 
celerity.  They  arrived  at  Holmby  House  at 
midnight.  The  cornet,  for  that  w^as  the  mili- 
tary title  by  which  Joyce  w^as  designated,  drew 
up  his  horsemen  about  the  palace,  and  de- 
manded entrance      Before  his    coftipany  ar* 


204  KING  CHARLES  I. 

rived,  however,  there  had  been  an  alarm  thai 
they  were  coming,  and  the  guards  liad  been 
doubled.  The  officers  in  command  asked  the 
cornet  what  was  his  name  and  business.  He 
replied  that  he  was  Cornet  Joyce,  and  that  hi^ 
business  was  to  speak  to  the  king.  They  asked 
him  by  whom  he  was  sent,  and  he  replied  thai 
he  was  sent  by  himself,  and  that  he  must  and 
would  see  the  king.  They  then  commanded 
their  soldiers  to  stand  by  their  arms,  and  be 
ready  to  fire  when  the  word  should  be  given. 
They,  however,  perceived  that  Joyce  and  hia 
force  were  a  detachment  from  the  army  to 
which  they  themselves  belonged,  and  conclud- 
ing to  receive  them  as  brothers,  they  opened 
the  gates  and  let  them  in. 

The  cornet  stationed  sentinels  at  the  doora 
of  those  apartments  of  the  castle  which  were 
occupied  by  the  Scotch  commissioners  who 
had  the  king  in  charge,  and  then  went  himself 
directly  to  the  king's  chamber.  He  had  a 
pistol  loaded  and  cocked  in  liis  hand.  He 
knocked  at  the  door.  There  were  four  grooms 
in  waiting :  they  rebuked  him  for  making  such 
a  disturbance  at  that  time  of  tlie  night,  and 
told  him  that  he  should  wait  until  the  morn- 
ing if  he  had  any  communication  to  make  to 
the  king. 

The  cornet  would  not  accede  to  this  proposi- 
tion, but  knocked  violently  at  the  door,  tlie 


Arrest  of  King  Charles  1. 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  205 

servants  being  deterred  from  interfering  by 
dread  of  the  loaded  pistol,  and  by  the  air  and 
manner  of  their  visitor,  which  told  them  very 
plainly  that  he  was  not  to  be  trifled  with. 
The  king  finally  heard  the  disturbance,  and, 
on  learning  the  cause,  sent  out  word  that  Joyce 
must  go  away  and  wait  till  morning,  for  ho 
would  not  get  up  to  see  him  at  that  hour. 
The  cornet,  as  one  of  the  historians  of  the 
time  expresses  it,  *' huffed  and  retired."  The 
next  morning  he  had  an  interview  with  the  king. 
AVhen  he  was  introduced  to  the  king's  apart- 
ment in  the  morning,  the  king  said  that  he 
wished  to  have  the  Scotch  commissioners  pres- 
ent at  the  interview.  Joyce  replied  that  the 
commissioners  had  notliing  to  do  now  but  to 
return  to  tlie  Parliament  at  London.  The 
king  then  said  that  he  wished  to  see  his  in- 
structions. The  cornet  replied  that  he  would 
show  them  to  him,  and  he  sent  out  to  order 
his  horsemen  to  parade  in  the  inner  court  of 
the  palace,  where  the  king  could  see  them  from 
his  windows ;  and  then,  pointing  them  out  to 
the  king,  he  said,  "These,  sir,  are  my  instruc- 
tions." The  king,  who  in  all  the  trials  and 
troubles  of  his  life  of  excitement  and  danger, 
took  everything  quietly  and  calmly,  looked  at 
tlie  men  attentively.  They  were  fine  troops, 
well  mounted  and  armed.  He  then  turned  to 
the  cornet,  and  said,  with  a  smile,  that  "his 


206  KING   CHARLES   t. 

instructions  were  in  fair  characters,  and  could 
be  read  without  spelling."  The  cornet  then 
said  that  his  orders  were  to  take  the  king  away 
with  him.  The  king  declined  going,  unless 
the  commissioners  went  too.  The  cornet 
made  no  objection,  saying  that  the  commis- 
sioners might  do  as  they  pleased  about  accom- 
panying him,  but  that  he  himself  must  go. 

The  party  set  off  from  Holmby  and  traveled 
two  days,  stopping  at  night  at  the  houses  of 
friends  to  their  cause.  They  reached  Cam- 
bridge, where  the  leading  officers  of  the  army 
received  the  king,  rendering  him  every  possible 
mark  of  deference  and  respect.  From  Cam- 
bridge he  was  conducted  by  the  leadcts  of  the 
army  from  town  to  town,  remaining  sometimes 
several  days  at  a  place.  He  was  attended  by 
a  strong  guard,  and  was  treated  everywhere 
with  the  utmost  consideration  and  honor.  He 
was  allowed  some  little  liberty,  in  riding  out 
and  in  amusements,  but  every  precaution  was 
taken  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  an  escape. 

The  people  collected  everywhere  into  the 
places  through  which  he  had  to  pass,  and  his 
presence-chamber  was  constantly  thronged. 
This  was  not  altogether  on  account  of  their  re- 
spect and  veneration  for  him  as  king,  but  it 
arose  partly  from  a  very  singular  cause.  There 
is  a  certain  disease  called  the  scrofula,  which 
in  former  times  had  the  name  of  the  King's 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  20T 

Evil.  It  is  a  very  unmanageable  and  obstinate 
disorder,  resisting  all  ordinary  modes  of  treat- 
ment ;  but  in  the  days  of  King  Charles,  it  was 
universally  believed  by  the  common  people  of 
England,  that  if  a  king  touched  a  patient 
afflicted  with  this  disease,  he  would  recover. 
This  was  the  reason  why  it  was  called  the  king's 
evil.  It  was  the  evil  that  kings  only  could 
cure.  Now,  as  kings  seldom  traveled  much 
about  their  dominions,  whenever  one  did  make 
such  a  journey,  the  people  embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity to  bring  all  the  cases  which  could  pos- 
sibly be  considered  as  scrofula  to  the  line  of  his 
route,  in  order  that  he  might  touch  the  per- 
sons afflicted  and  heal  them. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  the  king  was 
conducted  to  Hampton  Court,  a  beautiful  pal- 
ace on  the  Thames,  a  short  distance  above  Lon- 
don. Here  he  remained  for  some  time.  He 
had  an  interview  here  with  two  of  his  children. 
The  oldest  son  was  still  in  France.  The  two 
whom  he  saw  here  were  the  Duke  of  Glouces- 
ter and  the  Princess  Elizabeth.  He  found 
that  they  were  under  the  care  of  a  nobleman 
of  high  rank,  and  that  they  were  treated  with 
great  consideration.  Charles  was  extremely 
gratified  and  pleased  with  seeing  these  mem- 
bers of  his  family  again,  after  so  long  a  separa- 
tion. His  feelings  of  domestic  affection  were 
very  strong. 


208  KING   CHARLES  I. 

The  king  remained  at  Hampton  Court  two 
or  three  months.  During  this  time,  London, 
and  all  the  region  about  it,  was  kept  in  a  con- 
tinual state  of  excitement  by  the  contentions 
of  the  army  and  Parliament,  and  the  endless 
negotiations  which  they  attempted  with  each 
other  and  with  the  king.  During  all  this  time 
the  king  was  in  a  sort  of  elegant  and  honorable 
imprisonment  in  his  palace  at  Hampton  Court ; 
but  he  found  the  restraints  to  which  he  was 
subjected,  and  the  harassing  cares  which  the 
contest  between  these  two  great  powers  brought 
upon  him,  so  great,  that  he  determined  to  make 
his  escape  from  the  thraldom  which  bound 
him.  He  yery  probably  thought  that  he  could 
again  raise  his  standard,  and  collect  an  army 
to  fight  in  his  cause.  Or  perhaps  he  thought 
of  making  his  escape  from  the  country  alto- 
gether. It  is  not  improbable  that  he  was  not 
decided  himself  which  of  these  plans  to  pursue, 
but  left  the  question  to  be  determined  by  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  should  find  himself 
when  he  had  regained  his  freedom. 

At  any  rate,  he  made  his  escape.  One  even- 
ing, about  ten  o'clock,  attendants  came  into 
his  room  at  Hampton  Court,  and  found  that  he 
had  gone.  There  were  some  letters  upon  the 
table  which  he  had  left,  directed  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, to  the  general  of  the  army,  and  to  the 
officer  who  had  guarded  him  at  Hanipton  Co*^'n, 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  209 

The  king  had  left  the  palace  an  hour  or  two 
before.  He  passed  out  at  the  private  door, 
which  admitted  him  to  a  park  connected  with 
the  palace.  lie  went  through  the  park  by  a 
walk  which  led  down  to  the  water,  where  there 
was  a  boat  ready  for  him.  He  crossed  the 
river  in  the  boat,  and  on  the  opposite  shore  he 
found  several  officers  and  some  horses  ready  to 
receive  him.  He  mounted  one  of  the  horses, 
and  the  party  rode  rapidly  away. 

They  traveled  all  night,  and  arrived,  toward 
morning,  at  the  residence  of  a  countess  on 
whose  attachment  to  him  and  fidelity  he  placed 
great  reliance.  The  countess  concealed  him 
in  her  house,  though  it  was  understood  by  all 
concerned  that  this  was  only  a  temporary  place 
of  refuge.  He  could  not  long  be  concealed 
here,  and  her  residence  was  not  provided  with 
any  means  of  defense  ;  so  that,  immediately  on 
their  arrival  at  the  countesses,  the  king  and 
the  few  friends  who  were  with  him  began  to 
concert  plans  for  a  more  secure  retreat. 

The  house  of  the  countess  was  on  the  south- 
ern coast  of  England,  near  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
There  was  a  famous  castle  in  those  days  upon 
this  island,  near  the  center  of  it,  called  Caris- 
brooke  Castle.  The  ruins  of  it,  which  are  very 
extensive,  still  remain.  This  castle  was  under 
the  charge  of  Colonel  Hammond,  who  was  at 
that  time  governor  of  the    island.     Colonel 

16-CI)»rlMl. 


210  KING  CHARLES  I. 

Hammond  was  a  near  relative  of  one  of  King 
Charles's  chaplains,  and  the  king  thought  it 
probable  that  he  would  espouse  his  cause.  He 
accordingly  sent  two  of  the  gentlemen  who  had 
accompanied  him  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  see 
Colonel  Hammond,  and  inquire  of  lum  whether 
he  would  receive  and  protect  the  king  if  he 
Vfould  come  to  him.  But  he  charged  them 
not  to  let  Hammond  know  where  he  was,  un- 
less he  would  first  solemnly  promise  to  protect 
him,  and  not  to  subject  him  to  any  restraint. 

The  messengers  went,  and,  to  the  king's 
surprise,  brought  back  Hammond  with  them. 
Tlie  king  asked  them  whether  tliey  had  got  his 
written  promise  to  protect  him.  They  an- 
swered no,  but  tliat  they  could  depend  upon 
him  as  a  man  of  honor.  The  king  was  alarmed. 
**Then  you  have  betrayed  me,"  said  he,  ^^and 
I  am  his  prisoner."  The  messengers  were  then, 
in  their  turn,  alarmed  at  having  thus  disap- 
pointed and  displeased  the  king,  and  they 
offered  to  kill  Hammond  on  the  spot,  and  to 
provide  some  other  means  of  securing  the  king's 
safety.  The  king,  however,  would  not  sane- 
tion  any  such  proceeding,  but  put  himself  un- 
der Hammond's  charge,  and  was  conveyed  to 
Carisbrooke  Castle.  He  was  received  with 
every  mark  of  respect,  but  was  very  carefully 
guarded.  It  was  about  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber that  these  events  took  place. 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  211 

Hammond  notified  the  Parliament  that 
King  Charles  was  in  his  hands,  and  sent  for 
directions  from  them  as  to  what  he  should  do. 
Parliament  required  that  he  should  be  care- 
fully guarded,  and  they  appropriated  £5000 
for  the  expenses  of  his  support.  The  king 
remained  in  this  confinment  more  than  a  year, 
while  the  Parliament  and  the  army  were  strug- 
gling for  the  mastery  of  the  kingdom. 

He  spent  his  time,  during  this  long  period, 
in  various  pursuits  calculated  to  beguile  the 
weary  days,  and  he  sometimes  planned  schemes 
for  escape.  There  were  also  a  great  many 
messages  and  negotiations  going  between  the 
king  and  the  Parliament,  which  resulted  in 
nothing  but  to  make  the  broach  between  them 
wider  and  wider.  Sometimes  the  king  was 
silent  and  depressed.  At  other  times  he  seemed 
in  his  usual  spirits.  He  read  series  books 
a  great  deal,  and  wrote.  There  is  a  famous 
book,  which  was  found  in  manuscript  after  his 
death  among  his  papers,  in  his  handwriting, 
which  it  is  supposed  he  wrote  at  this  time.  Ho 
was  allowed  to  take  walks  upon  the  castle  wall, 
which  was  very  extensive,  and  he  had  some 
other  amusements  which  served  to  occupy  his 
leisure  time.  He  found  his  confinement,  how- 
ever, in  spite  of  all  these  mitigations,  weari- 
some and  hard   to  boar. 

There  were  some  schemes  attempted  to  en- 


212  KING   CHARLES  I. 

able  him  to  regain  his  liberty.  There  was  one 
very  desperate  attempt.  It  seems  that  Ham- 
mond, suspecting  that  the  king  was  plotting 
an  escape,  dismissed  the  king's  own  servants 
and  put  others  in  their  places — persons  in 
whom  he  supposed  he  could  more  implicitly 
rely.  One  of  these  men,  whose  name  was 
Burley,  was  exasperated  at  being  thus  dis- 
missed. He  went  through  the  town  of  Caris- 
brooke,  beating  a  drum,  and  calling  upon  the 
people  to  rise  and  rescue  their  sovereign  from 
his  captivity.  The  governor  of  the  castle, 
hearing  of  this,  sent  out  a  small  body  of  men, 
arrested  Burley,  and  hanged  and  quartered 
him.  The  king  was  made  a  close  prisoner  im- 
mediately after  this  attempt. 

Notwithstanding  this,  another  attempt  was 
soon  made  by  the  king  himself,  which  came 
much  nearer  succeeding.  There  was  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Osborne,  whom  Hammond  em- 
ployed as  a  personal  attendant  upon  the  king. 
He  was  what  was  called  gentleman  usher. 
The  king  succeeded  in  gaining  this  person's 
favor  so  much  by  his  affability  and  his  general 
demeanor,  that  one  day  he  put  a  little  paper 
into  one  of  the  king's  gloves,  which  it  was  a 
part  of  his  office  to  hold  on  certain  occasions, 
and  on  this  paper  he  had  written  that  he  was 
at  the  king's  service.  At  first  Charles  was 
afraid  that  this  offer  was  only  a  treacherous 


THE  CAPTIVITY.  213 

one  ;  but  at  length  he  confided  in  him.  In  the 
meantime  there  was  a  certain  man  by  the 
name  of  Rolf  in  the  garrison,  wlio  conceived 
the  design  of  enticing  the  king  away  from  tlie 
castle  on  the  promise  of  promoting  his  escape, 
and  then  murdering  him.  Rolf  thought  that 
this  plan  would  please  the  Parliament,  and  that 
he  himself,  and  those  who  should  aid  him  in 
the  enterprise,  would  be  rewarded.  He  pro- 
posed this  scheme  to  Osborne,  and  asked  him 
to  join  in  the  execution  of  it. 

Osborne  made  the  whole  plan  known  to  the 
king.  The  king,  on  reflection,  said  to  Osborne, 
**  Very  well ;  continue  in  communication  with 
Rolf,  and  help  him  mature  his  plan.  Let  him 
thus  aid  in  getting  me  out  of  the  castle,  and 
we  will  make  such  arrangements  as  to  pre- 
vent the  assassination."  Osborne  did  so.  He 
also  gained  over  some  other  soldiers  who  were 
employed  as  sentinels  near  the  place  of  escape. 
Osborne  and  Rolf  furnished  the  king  with  a, 
saw  and  a  file,  by  means  of  which  he  sawed  off 
some  iron  bars  which  guarded  one  of  his  win- 
dows. They  were  then,  on  a  certain  night,  to 
be  ready  with  a  few  attendants  on  the  outside 
to  receive  the  king  as  he  descended,  and  con- 
vey him  away. 

In  the  mean  time  Rolf  and  Osborne  had  each 
obtained  a  number  of  confederates,  those  of 
the  former  supposing   that   the  plan  waa  to 


214  KING   CHARLES   I. 

assassinate  the  king,  while  those  of  the  latter 
understood  that  the  plan  was  to  assist  him  in 
escaping  from  captivity.  Some  expressions 
which  were  dropped  by  one  of  this  latter  class 
alarmed  Rolf,  and  led  him  to  suspect  some 
treachery.  He  accordingly  took  the  precau- 
tion to  provide  a  number  of  armed  men,  and  to 
have  them  ready  at  the  window,  so  that  he 
should  be  sure  to  be  strong  enough  to  secure 
the  king  immediately  on  his  descent  from  the 
window.  When  the  time  came  for  the  escape, 
the  king,  before  getting  out,  looked  below,  and, 
seeing  so  many  armed  men,  knew  at  once  that 
Rolf  had  discovered  their  designs,  and  refused 
to  descend.  He  quickly  returned  to  his  bed. 
The  next  day  the  bars  were  found  filed  in  two, 
and  the  king  was  made  a  closer  prisoner  than 
ever. 

Some  months  after  this,  some  commissioners 
from  Parliament  went  to  see  the  king,  and  they 
found  liim  in  a  most  wretched  condition.  His 
beard  was  grown,  his  dress  was  neglected,  his 
health  was  gone,  his  hair  was  gray,  and,  though 
only  forty-eight  years  of  age,  he  appeared  as 
decrepit  and  infirm  as  a  man  of  seventy.  In 
fact,  he  was  in  a  state  of  misery  and  despair. 
Even  the  enemies  who  came  to  visit  him, 
though  usually  stern  and  hard-hearted  enough 
to  withstand  any  impressions,  were  extrem.ely 
affected  at  the  sight. 


iMlf 


CHAPTER  XL 

TRIAL    AND    DEATH. 

As  soon  as  tlie  army  party,  with  Oliver  Crom- 
well at  their  head,  had  obtained  complete 
ascendency,  they  took  immediate  measures  for 
proceeding  vigorously  against  the  king.  They 
seized  him  at  Carisbrooke  Castle,  and  took  him 
to  Hurst  Castle,  which  was  a  gloomy  fortress 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Carisbrooke.  Hurst 
Castle  was  in  a  very  extraordinary  situation. 
There  is  a  long  point  extending  from  the  main 
land  toward  the  Isle  of  Wight,  opposite  to  the 
eastern  end  of  it.  Tliis  point  is  very  narrow, 
but  is  nearly  two  miles  long.  The  castle  was 
built  at  the  extremity.  It  consisted  of  one 
great  round  tower,  defended  by  walls  and  bas- 
tions. It  stood  lonely  and  desolate,  surrounded 
by  the  sea,  except  the  long  and  narrow  neck 
which  connected  it  with  the  distant  shore. 
Of  course,  though  comfortless  and  solitary,  it 
was  a  place  of  much  greater  security  than 
Carisbrooke. 

The  circumstances  of  the  king's  removal  to 

215 


216  KING  CHARLES  I. 

this  new  place  of  confinement  were  as  follows  : 
In  some  of  his  many  negotiations  with  the  Par- 
liament while  at  Carisbrooke  he  had  bound 
himself,  on  certain  conditions,  not  to  attempt 
to  escape  from  that  place.  His  friends,  how- 
ever, when  they  heard  that  the  army  were  com- 
ing again  to  take  him  away,  concluded  that  he 
ought  to  lose  no  time  in  making  his  escape  out 
of  the  country.  They  proposed  the  plan  to 
the  king.  He  made  two  objections  to  it.  He 
thought,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  attempt 
would  be  very  likely  to  fail ;  and  that,  if  it  did 
fail,  it  would  exasperate  his  enemies,  and  make 
his  confinement  more  rigorous,  and  his  proba- 
ble danger  more  imminent  than  ever.  He  said 
that,  in  the  second  place,  he  had  promised  the 
Parliament  that  he  would  not  attempt  to  es- 
cape, and  that  he  could  not  break  his  word. 

The  three  friends  were  silent  when  they 
heard  the  king  speak  these  words.  After  a 
pause,  the  leader  of  them,  Colonel  Cook,  said, 
"  Suppose  I  were  to  tell  your  majesty  that  the 
army  have  a  plan  for  seizing  you  immediately, 
and  that  they  will  be  upon  you  very  soon 
unless  you  escape.  Suppose  I  tell  you  that  we 
have  made  all  the  preparations  necessary — that 
we  have  horses  all  ready  here,  concealed  in  a 
pent-house — that  we  have  a  vessel  at  the  Cows  * 

*  There  were  two  points  or  headlands,  on  opposite 
sides  of  an  inlet  from  the  sea,  on  the  northern  side 


TRIAL  AND  DEATH.  217 

waiting  for  us — that  we  are  all  prepared  to 
jittend  you,  and  eager  to  engage  in  the  enter- 
prise— the  darkness  of  the  night  favoring  our 
plan,  and  rendering  it  almost  certain  of  success. 
Now,"  added  he,  "these  suppositions  express 
the  real  state  of  the  case,  and  the  only  question 
is  what  your  majesty  will  resolve  to  do." 

The  king  paused.  He  was  distressed  with 
perplexity  and  doubt.  At  length  he  said, 
•*  They  have  promised  me,  and  I  have  promised 
them,  and  I  will  riot  break  the  promise  first." 
'•  Your  majesty  means  by  they  ancl  them,  the 
Parliament,  I  suppose  ?  "  ''  Yes,  I  do."  "  But 
the  scene  is  not  changed.  The  Parliament 
liave  no  longer  any  power  to  protect  you.  The 
danger  is  imminent,  and  the  circumstances 
absolve  your  majesty  from  all  obligation." 

But  the  king  could  not  be  moved.  lie  said, 
come  what  may,  he  would  not  do  anything 
that  looked  like  a  breaking  of  his  word,  lie 
would  dismiss  the  subject  and  go  to  bed,  and 
enjoy  his  rest  as  long  as  he  could.  His  friends 
told  him  that  they  feared  it  would  not  be  long. 
They    seemed    very    much  agitated  and  dis- 

of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  whicli  in  ancient  times  received 
the  name  of  Cows.  They  were  called  the  East  Cow 
and  the  West  Cow.  The  harbor  between  them 
formed  a  safe  and  excellent  harbor.  The  name  is 
now  spelled  Cowes,  and  the  port  is,  at  the  present 
day,  of  great  commercial  importance. 


218  KING   CHARLES   t. 

tressed.  The  king  asked  them  why  they  were  so 
much  troubled.  They  said  it  was  to  think  of 
the  extreme  danger  in  which  his  majesty  was 
lying,  and  his  unwillingness  to  do  anything  to 
avert  it.  ^The  king  replied,  that  if  the  danger 
were  tenfold  more  than  it  was,  he  would  not 
break  his  word  to  avert  it. 

The  fears  of  the  king's  friends  were  soon  re- 
alized. The  next  morning,  at  break  of  day,  he 
was  awakened  by  a  loud  knocking  at  his  door. 
,He  sent  one  of  his  attendants  to  inquire  what 
it  meant.  Jt  was  a  party  of  soldiers  come  to 
take  him  away.  They  would  give  him  no  in- 
formation in  respect  to  their  plans,  but  required 
him  to  dress  himself  immediately  and  go  with 
tlicni.  They  mounted  horses  at  the  gate  of  the 
castle.  The  king  was  very  earnest  to  have  his 
friends  accompany  him.  They  allowed  one  of 
them,  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  to  go  with  him 
a  little  way,  and  then  told  him  he  must  return. 
The  Duke  bade  his  master  a  very  sad  and  sor- 
rowful farewell,  and  left  him  to  g'o  on  alone. 

The  escort  which  were  conducting  him  took 
him  to  Hurst  Castle.  The  Parliament  passed 
a  vote  condemning  this  proceeding,  but  it  was 
too  late.  The  army  concentrated  their  forces 
about  London,  took  possession  of  the  avenues 
to  the  house  of  Parliament,  and  excluded  all 
those  members  who  were  opposed  to  them. 
The  remnant  of  the  Parliament  which  was  left 


TRIAL  AND   DEATH.  219 

immediately   took  measures  for  bringing  the 
king  to  trial. 

The  House  of  Commons  did  not  dare  to  trust 
the  trial  of  the  king  to  the  Peers,  according  to 
the  provisions  of  tlie  English  Constitution,  and 
so  they  passed  an  ordinance  for  attainting  him 
of  higli  treason,  and  for  appointing  commission' 
ers,  themselves,  to  try  him.  Of  course,  in  ap- 
pointing these  commissioners,  they  would  name 
such  men  as  they  were  sure  wouli  be  predis 
posed  to  condemn  him.  The  Peers  rejected 
tliis  ordinance,  and  adjourned  for  nearly  a  fort- 
night, hoping  thus  to  arrest  any  further  pro- 
ceedings. The  Commons  immediately  voted 
hat  the  action  of  the  Peers  was  not  necessary, 
and  that  they  would  go  forwari]  tliemselves. 
They  then  appointed  the  commissioners,  and 
ordered  the  trial  to  proceed. 

Everything  connected  with  the  trial  was 
conducted  with  great  state  and  parade.  The 
number  of  commissioners  constituting  the  court 
was  one  hundred  and  thirty-three,  though  only 
a  little  more  than  half  that  number  attended 
the  trial.  The  king  had  been  removed  from 
ITurst  Castle  to  Windsor  Castle,  and  he  was 
now  brought  into  the  city,  and  lodged  in  a 
liouse  near  to  Westminster  Hall,  so  as  to  be  at 
hand.  On  the  appointed  day  the  court  assem- 
bled ;  the  vast  hall  and  all  the  avenues  to  it 
were  thronged.      The  whole  civilized  world 


220  KING  CHARLES   I. 

looked  on,  in  fact,  in  astonishment  at  the  al' 
most  unprecedented  spectacle  of  a  king  tried 
for  his  life  by  an  assembly  of  his  subjects. 

The  first  Inisiness  after  the  opening  of  the 
court  was  to  call  the  roll  of  the  commissioners, 
that  each  one  might  answer  to  his  name.  The 
name  of  tlie  general  of  the  army,  Fairfax,  who 
was  one  of  the  number,  was  the  second  upon 
the  list.  When  his  name  was  called  there  was 
no  answer.  It  was  called  again.  A  voice  from 
one  of  the  ga/'eries  replied,  '*  Ile^ias  too  much 
wit  to  be  here.  '  This  produced  some  disorder, 
and  the  officers  called  out  to  know  who  an- 
swered in  that  manner,  but  there  was  no  reply. 
Afterwards,  when  the  impeachment  was  read, 
the  phrase  occurred,  ^^  Of  all  the  people  of  Eng- 
land," when  the  same  voice  rejoined,  "No, 
not  the  half  of  them."  The  officers  then  or- 
dered a  soldier  to  fire  into  the  seat  from  which 
these  interruptions  came.  This  com.mand  was 
not  obeyed,  but  they  found,  on  investigating 
the  case,  that  the  person  who  had  answered 
thus  was  Fairfax's  wife,  and  they  immediately 
removed  her  from  the  hall. 

When  the  court  was  fully  organized,  they 
commanded  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  bring  in  the 
prisoner.  Tlie  king  was  accordingly  brouglit 
in,  and  conducted  to  a  chair  covered  with  crim- 
son velvet,  which  had  been  placed  for  him  at 
the  bar.     The  judges  remained  in  their  seats. 


TRIAL  AND   DEATH.  221 

with  their  heads  covered,  while  he  entered,  and 
the  king  took  his  seat,  keeping  his  head  cov- 
ered too.  lie  took  a  calm  and  deliberate  survey 
ut'  the  scene,  looking  around  upon  the  judges, 
and  upon  the  armed  guards  by  which  he  was 
fiivironed,  with  a  stern  and  unchanging  coun- 
tenance. At  length  silence  was  proclaimed, 
and  the  president  rose  to  introduce  the  pro- 
ceedings. 

He  addressed  the  king.  He  said  that  the 
Commons  of  England,  deeply  sensible  of  the 
calamities  which  had  been  brought  upon  Eng- 
land by  the  civil  war,  and  of  the  inno  nt 
blood  which  had  been  shed,  and  convinced  that 
he,  the  king,  had  been  the  guilty  cause  of  it, 
were  now  determined  to  make  inquisition  for 
this  blood,  and  to  bring  him  to  trial  and  judg- 
ment ;  that  they  had,  for  this  purpose,  organized 
this  court,  and  that  he  should  now  hear  the 
charge  brought  against  him,  which  they  would 
proceed  to  try. 

An  officer  then  arose  to  read  the  charge. 
The  king  made  a  gesture  for  him  to  be  silent. 
He,  however,  persisted  in  his  reading,  although 
the  king  once  or  twice  attempted  to  interrupt 
him.  The  president,  too,  ordered  him  to  pro- 
ceed. The  charge  recited  the  evils  and  calam- 
ities which  had  resulted  from  the  war,  and  con- 
ciuded  by  saying  that  *''  the  said  Charles  Stu- 
art is  and  has  been  the  occasioner,  autlior,  and 


222-  KING   CHARLES  I. 

continuer  of  the  said  unnatural,  cruel,  and 
bloody  wars,  and  is  therein  guilty  of  all  the 
treasons,  murders,  rapines,  burnings,  spoils, 
desolations,  damages,  and  mischiefs  to  this 
nation  acted  and  committed  in  the  said  wars, 
or  occasioned  thereby." 

The  president  then  sharply  rebuked  the  king 
for  his  interruptions  to  the  proceedings,  and 
asked  him  what  answer  he  had  to  make  to  the 
impeachment.  The  king  replied  by  demand- 
ing by  what  authority  they  pretended  to  call 
him  to  account  for  his  conduct.  He  told  them 
that  he  was  their  king,  and  they  his  subjects  ; 
that  they  were  not  even  the  Parliament,  and 
that  they  had  no  authority  from  any  true  Par- 
liament to  sit  as  a  court  to  try  him  ;  that  he 
would  not  betray  his  own  dignity  and  righto  by 
making  any  answer  at  all  to  any  charges  they 
might  bring  against  him,  for  that  would  be  an 
acknowledgment  of  their  authority  ;  but  he  was 
convinced  that  there  was  not  one  of  them  who 
did  not  in  his  heart  believe  that  he  was  wholly 
innocent  of  the  charges  which  they  had  brought 
against  him. 

These  proceedings  occupied  the  first  day. 
The  king  was  then  sent  back  to  his  place  of 
confinement,  and  the  court  adjourned.  The 
next  day,  when  called  upon  to  plead  to  the  im- 
peachment, the  king  only  insisted  the  more 
strenuously  in  denying  the  authority  of  the 


TRIAL  AND   DEATH.  223 

court,  and  in  stating  his  reasons  for  so  denying 
it.  The  court  were  determined  not  to  hear 
what  he  had  to  say  on  this  point,  and  the  pres- 
ident continually  interrupted  him  ;  while  he, 
in  his  turn,  continually  interrupted  the  presi- 
dent too.  It  was  a  struggle  and  a  dispute,  not 
a  trial.  At  last,  on  the  fourth  day,  something 
like  testimony  was  produced  to  prove  that  the 
king  had  been  in  arms  against  the  forces  of  the 
Parliament.  On  the  fifth  and  sixth  days,  the 
judges  sat  in  private  to  come  to  their  decision  ; 
and  on  the  day  following,  which  was  Saturday, 
January  27th,  they  called  the  king  again  be- 
fore them,  and  opened  the  doors  to  admit  the 
great  assembly  of  spectators,  that  the  decision 
might  be  announced. 

There  followed  another  scene  of  mutual  in- 
terruptions and  disorder.  The  king  insisted 
on  longer  delay.  He  had  not  said  what  he 
wished  to  say  in  his  defense.  The  president 
told  him  it  was  now  too  late  ;  that  he  had  con- 
sumed the  time  allotted  to  him  in  making  ob- 
jections to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  and 
now  it  was  too  late  for  his  defense.  The  clerk 
then  read  the  sentence,  which  ended  thus : 
*'  For  all  which  treasons  and  crimes  this  court 
doth  adjudge  that  he,  the  said  Charles  Stuart, 
is  a  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer,  and  public 
enemy,  and  shall  be  put  to  deatli  by  the  sever- 
ing of  his  head  from  his  body."    When  the 


224  KING  CHAKLES  I. 

clerk  had  finished  the  reading,  the  presi  ent 
rose,  and  said  deliberately  and  solemnly, 

**  The  sentence  now  read  and  published  is 
the  act,  sentence,  judgment,  and  resolution  of 
the  whole  court." 

And  the  whole  court  rose  to  express  their 
assent. 

The  king  then  said  to  the  president,  "Will 
you  hear  me  a  word,  sir  ?  " 

President.  *'  Sir,  you  are  not  to  be  heard 
after  the  sentence." 

King.  ^'  Am  I  not,  sir  ?  " 

President.  ''  No,  sir.  Guards,  withdraw 
the  prisoner  ! " 

King.  "■  I  may  speak  after  sentence  by  your 
favor,  sir.     Hold — I  say,   sir — by  your  favor, 

sir — If  I  am  not  permitted  to  speak "    The 

other  parts  of  his  broken  attempts  to  speak 
were  lost  in  the  tumult,  and  noise.  He  was 
taken  out  of  the  hall. 

One  would  have  supposed  that  all  who  wit- 
nessed these  dreadful  proceedings,  and  who 
now  saw  one  who  had  been  so  lately  the  sover- 
eign of  a  mighty  empire  standing  friendless  and 
alone  on  the  brink  of  destruction,  would  have 
relented  at  last,  and  would  have  found  their 
hearts  yieiding  to  emotions  of  pity.  But  it 
seems  not  to  have  been  so.  The  animosities 
engendered  by  political  strife  are  merciless, 
ftud  the  crowd  through  which  the  king  had  to 


TRIAL  AND   DHATH.  L'l'o 

pass  as  he  went  from  the  hall  scoffed  and  de- 
rided liim.  They  blew  the  smoke  of  their 
tobacco  in  his  face,  and  threw  their  pipes  at 
him.  Some  proceeded  to  worse  indignities 
than  these,  but  the  king  bore  all  with  quiet- 
ness and  resignation. 

The  king  was  sentenced  on  Saturday.  On 
tlie  evening  of  that  day  he  sent  a  request  that 
the  Bisliop  of  London  might  be  allowed  to  as- 
sist at  his  devotions,  and  that  his  children 
might  be  permitted  to  see  him  before  he  was 
to  die.  There  were  two  of  his  children  then 
in  England,  his  youngest  son  and  a  daughter. 
The  other  two  sons  had  escaped  to  the  Conti- 
nent. The  government  granted  both  these  re- 
quests. By  asking  for  the  services  of  an  Epis- 
copal clergyman,  Charles  signified  his  firm  de- 
termination to  adhere  to  the  very  last  hour  of 
Ills  life  to  the  religious  principles  which  he  had 
been  struggling  for  so  long.  It  is  somewhat 
surprising  tliat  the  government  were  willing  to 
conjply  with  the  request. 

It  was,  however,  complied  with,  and  Charles 
u  as  taken  from  the  palace  of  Whitehall,  wliieli 
is  in  Westminster,  to  the  palace  of  St.  James, 
not  very  far  distant.  lie  was  escorted  by  a 
guard  through  the  streets.  At  St.  James's 
til  ere  was  a  small  chapel  where  the  king  at- 
tended divine  service.  The  Bishop  of  London 
preached  a  sermon  on  the  future  judgment,  in 

l7~rh»rUil. 


226  KIKG  CHARLES  I. 

which  he  administered  comfort  to  the  mind  of 
the  unhappy  prisoner,  so  far  as  the  sad  case  al- 
lowed of  any  comfort,  by  the  thought  that  all 
human  judgments  would  be  reviewed,  and  all 
wrong  made  right  at  the  great  day.  After  the 
service  the  king  spent  the  remainder  of  the 
day  in  retirement  and  private  devotion. 

During  the  afternoon  of  the  day  several  of 
his  most  trusty  friends  among  the  nobility 
called  to  see  him,  but  he  declined  to  grant 
them  admission.  He  said  that  his  time  was 
short  and  precious,  and  that  he  wished  to  im- 
prove it  to  the  utmost  in  preparation  for  the 
great  change  which  awaited  him.  He  hoped, 
therefore,  that  his  friends  would  not  be  dis- 
pleased if  he  declined  seeing  any  persons  be- 
sides his  children.  It  would  do  no  good  for 
them  to  be  admitted.  All  that  they  could  do 
for  him  now  was  to  pray  for  him. 

The  next  day  the  children, were  brought  to 
him  in  the  room  where  he  was  confined.  The 
daughter,  who  was  called  the  Lady  Elizabeth, 
was  the  oldest.  He  directed  her  to  tell  her 
brother  James,  who  was  the  second  son,  and 
now  absent  with  Charles  on  the  Continent, 
that  he  must  now,  from  the  time  of  his 
father's  death,  no  longer  look  upon  Charles 
as  merely  his  older  brother,  but  as  his  sov- 
ereign, and  obey  him  as  such  ;  and  he  re- 
quested her  to  charge  them  both,  from  him, 


] 
TRIAL   AND   DEATH.  227 

to  lore  each  other,  and  to  forgive  their  father's 
enemies. 

'*  You  will  not  forget  this,  my  dear  child, 
will  you  ?  "  added  the  king.  The  Lady  Eliza- 
beth was  still  very  young. 

**No,"  said  she,  '*!  will  never  forget  it  as 
long  as  I  live." 

lie  then  charged  her  with  a  message  to  her 
mother,  the  queen,  who  was  also  on  the  Conti- 
nent. "  Tell  her,"  said  he  ''  that  I  have  loved 
luT  faithfully  all  my  life,  and  that  my  tender 
regard  for  her  will  not  cease  till  I  cease  to 
breathe." 

Poor  Elizabeth  was  sadly  grieved  at  this 
parting  interview.  The  king  tried  to  comfort 
her.  *' You  must  not  be  so  afflicted  for  me," 
he  said.  "  It  will  be  a  very  glorious  death  that 
I  shall  die.  I  die  for  the  laws  and  liberties  of 
this  land,  and  for  maintaining  the  Protest^.nt 
religion.  I  have  forgiven  all  my  enemies,  and 
I  hope  that  God  will  forgive  them." 

The  little  son  was,  by  title,  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester.  lie  took  him  on  his  knees,  and 
said  in  substance,  *^  My  dear  boy,  they  are 
going  to  cut  off  your  father's  head."  The 
child  looked  up  into  his  father's  face  very  ear- 
nestly, not  comprehending  so  strange  an  as- 
sertion. 

"They  are  going  to  cut  off  my  head,"  re- 
peated the  king,  '*aud  perhaps  they  will  want 


228  KING   CHARLES   1. 

to  make  you  a  king ;  but  you  must  not  "be 
king  as  long  as  your  brothers  Charles  and 
James  live  ;  for  if  you  do,  very  likely  they  will, 
some  time  or  other,  cut  off  your  head."  The 
child  said,  with  a  very  determined  air,  that 
then  they  should  never  make  him  king  as  long 
as  he  lived.  The  king  then  gave  his  children 
some  other  parting  messages  for  several  of  his 
nearest  relatives  and  friends,  and  they  were 
taken  away. 

In  cases  of  capital  punishment,  in  England 
and  America,  there  must  be,  after  the  sentence 
is  pronounced,  written  authority  to  the  sheriff, 
or  other  proper  officer,  to  proceed  to  the  execu- 
tion of  it.  This  is  called  the  warrant,  and  is 
usually  to  be  signed  by  the  chief  magistrate  of 
the  state.  In  England  the  sovereign  always 
signs  the  warrant  of  execution  ;  but  in  the  case 
of  the  execution  of  the  sovereign  himself,  which 
was  a  case  entirely  unprecedented,  the  authori- 
tios  were  at  first  a  little  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
to  do.  The  commissioners  who  had  judged  the 
king  concluded  finally  to  sign  it  themselves. 
It  was  expressed  substantially  as  follows  : 

**  At  the  High  Court  of  Justice  for  the  try- 
ing and  judging  of  Charles  Stuart,  king  of 
England,  January  29th,  1648  : 

**  Whereas  Charles  Stuart,  king  of  England, 
ha?  been  convicted,  attainted,  and  condemned 


TRIAL  AND  DEATH.  229 

of  high  treason,  and  sentence  was  pronounced 
igainst  him  by  this  court,  to  be  put  to  death 
by  the  severance  of  his  head  from  his  body,  of 
which  sentence  execution  yet  remainetli  to  be 
done  ;  these  are,  therefore,  now  to  will  and  re- 
quire you  to  see  the  said  sentence  executed  in 
the  open  street  before  Whitehall,  upon  the 
morrow,  being  the  thirtieth  day  of  this  instant 
month  of  January,  between  the  hours  of  ten  in 
the  morning  and  five  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
said  day,  with  full  effect ;  and  for  so  doing  this 
shall  be  your  sufficient  warrant." 

Fifty-nine  of  the  judges  signed  this  warrant, 
and  then  it  was  sent  to  the  persons  appointed 
to  carry  the  sentence  into  execution. 

That  night  the  kii.g  slept  pretty  well  for 
about  four  hours,  though  during  th  evening 
before  he  could  hear  in  his  p«,  tment  the  noiso 
of  tlie  workmen  building  the  pla  fori  or  scaf- 
fold as  it  was  commonly  c  lied,  n  which  the 
execution  was  to  take  place.  He  awoke,  how- 
ever, long  before  day.  He  called  to  an  attend- 
ant who  lay  by  his  bedside,  and  requested  him 
to  get  up.  **  I  will  rise  myself,"  said  he,  *'  for 
I  have  a  great  work  to  do  to-day."  He  then 
requested  that  they  would  furnish  him  with 
the  best  dress,  and  an  extra  supply  of  under 
clotliing,  because  it  was  a  cold  morning.  He 
particularly  wished  to  be  well  guarded  from 


230  KING    CHARLES   I. 

the  cold,  lest  it  should  cause  him  to  shiver,  and 
they  would  suppose  that  he  was  trembling  from 
fear. 

^^I  have  no  fear,"  said  he.  *^  Death  is  not 
terrible  to  me.  I  bless  God  that  I  am  prepared." 

The  king  had  made  arrangements  for  divine 
service  in  his  room  early  in  the  morning,  to  be 
conducted  by  the  Bishop  of  London.  The 
b  shop  cama  in  at  the  time  appointed  and  read 
the  prayers.  He  albO  read,  in  the  course  of  the 
service,  the  t went;  -ninth  chapter  of  Matthew, 
which  narrates  the  closing  scenes  of  our  Sav- 
iour's life.  This  was,  in  fact,  the  regular 
lesson  for  the  day,  according  to  the  Episcopal 
ritual,  which  assigns  certain  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture to  every  day  of  the  year.  The  king  sup- 
posed that  the  bishop  had  purposely  selected  this 
passage,  and  he  thanked  him  for  it,  as  he  said 
it  seemed  to  him  very  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion. "  May  it  please  your  majesty,"  said  the 
bishop,  *'  it  is  the  proper  lesson  for  the  day." 
The  king  was  much  affected  at  learning  this 
fact,  as  he  considered  it  a  special  providence, 
indicating  that  he  was  prepared  to  die,  and 
that  he  should  be  sustained  in  the  final  agony. 

About  ten  o'clock.  Colonel  Hacker,  who  was 
the  first  one  named  in  the  warrant  of  execu- 
tion of  the  three  persons  to  whom  the  warrant 
was  addressed,  knocked  gently  at  the  king's 
chamber  door.    No  answer  was  returned.  Pres- 


TRIAL   AND   DEAtFL  231 

ently  he  knocked  again.  Tlie  king  asked  his 
attendant  to  go  to  the  door.  He  went,  and 
asked  Colonel  Hacker  why  he  knocked.  He 
replied  thq,t  he  wished  to  see  the  king. 

''Let  him  come  in,"  said  the  king. 

The  officer  entered,  hnt  with  great  embar- 
rassment and  trepidation.  He  felt  that  he  had 
a  most  awful  duty  to  perform.  He  informed 
the  king  that  it  was  time  to  proceed  to  White- 
hall, though  he  could  have  some  time  there  for 
rest.  *'  Very  well,"  said  the  king ;  *'  go  on ;  I 
will  follow."  The  king  then  took  the  bishop's 
arm,  and  they  went  along  together. 

They  found,  as  they  issued  from  the  palace 
of  St.  James  into  the  park  through  which  their 
way  led  to  Whitehall,  that  lines  of  soldiers  had 
been  drawn  up.  The  king,  with  the  bishop  on 
one  side,  and  the  attendant  before  referred  to, 
whose  name  was  Herbert,  on  the  other,  both 
uncovered,  walked  between  these  lines  of 
guards.  The  king  walked  on  very  fast,  so  that 
the  others  scarcely  kept  pace  with  him.  When 
he  arrived  at  Whitehall  he  spent  some  further 
time  in  devotion  with  the  bishop,  and  then,  at 
noon,  he  ate  a  little  bread  and  drank  some 
light  wine.  Soon  after  this,  Colonel  Hacker, 
the  officer,  came  to  the  door  and  let  them  know 
that  the  hour  had  arrived. 

The  bishop  and  Hacker  melted  into  tears  as 
they  bade  their   master   farewell.     The  king 


232  KING  CHARLES  T. 

directed  the  door  to  be  opened,  and  requested, 
the  officer  to  go  on,  saying  that  he  would  follow. 
They  went  through  a  large  hall,  called  the 
banqueting  hall,  to  a  window  in  front,  through 
which  a  passage  had  been  made  for  the  king  to 
his  scaffold,  which  was  built  up  in  the  street 
before  the  palace.  As  the  king  passed  out 
through  the  window,  he  perceived  that  a  vast 
throng  of  spectators  had  assembled  in  the 
streets  to  witness  the  spectacle.  He  had  ex- 
pected this,  and  had  intended  to  address  them. 
But  he  found  that  this  was  impossible,  as  the 
space  all  around  the  scaffold  was  occupied  with 
troops  of  horse  and  bodies  of  soldiers,  so  as  to 
keep  the  populace  at  so  great  a  distance  that 
they  could  not  hear  his  voice.  He,  however, 
made  his  speech,  addressing  it  particularly  to 
one  or  two  persons  who  were  near,  knowing 
that  they  would  put  the  substance  of  it  on 
record,  and  thus  make  it  known  to  all  mankind. 
There  was  then  some  further  conversation 
about  the  preparations  for  the  final  blow,  the' 
adjustment  of  the  dress,  the  hair,  etc.,  in 
which  the  king  took  an  active  part  with  great 
composure.  He  then  kneeled  down  and  laid 
his  head  upon  the  block. 

The  executioner,  who  wore  a  mask  that  he 
might  not  be  known,  began  to  adjust  the  hair 
of  the  prisoner  by  putting  it  up  under  his  cap, 
when  the  king,  supposing  that  he  was  going  to 


CA^rtM  I./IK6P.  :ui 


B:^©^!!^©©  of  King  Ch^riea  i« 


TRIAL  AND  DEATH.  238 

strike,  hastily  told  liim  to  wait  for  tlie  sign. 
Tlie  executioner  said  that  he  would.  The  king 
spent  a  few  minutes  in  prayer,  and  then 
stretched  out  his  liands,  which  was  the  sign 
which  he  had  arranged  to  give.  The  ax  de- 
scended. The  dissevered  liead,  with  the  blood 
streaming  from  it,  was  held  wp  by  the  assistant 
executioner,  for  the  gratification  of  tlie  vast 
crowd  which  was  gazing  on  the  sceiie.  He 
said,  as  he  raised  it,  "  Behold  the  head  of  a 
traitor  ! '' 

The  body  was  placed  in  a  coffin  covered  with 
black  velvet,  and  taken  back  through  the 
window  into  the  room  from  which  the  monarch 
luid  walked  out,  in  life  and  health,  but  a  few 
moments  before.  A  day  of  two  afterward  it 
wa3  taken  to  Windsor  Castle  upon  a  hearse 
drawn  by  six  horses,  and  covered  with  black 
\tlvet.  It  was  there  interred  in  a  vault  in  the 
chapel,  with  an  inscription  upon  lead  over  the 
coffin  : 

KIXO  CHARLES. 

1648. 

After  the  death  of  Charles,  a  sort  of  republic 
was  established  in  England,  called  tlie  Com- 
monwealth, over  which,  instead  of  a  king,  Oli- 
ver Cromwell  presided,  under  the  title  of  Pro- 
tector. The  country  was,  however,  in  a  very 
anomalous    and   unsettled   state.     It  became 


234  KINO  CHARLES  I. 

more  distracted  still  after  the  death  of  the  Pro- 
tector, and  it  was  only  twelve  years  after  be- 
heading the  father  that  the  people  of  England, 
by  common  consent,  called  back  the  son  to  the 
throne.  It  seems  as  if  there  could  be  no  stable 
government  in  a  country  where  any  very  large 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  are  destitute  of  prop- 
erty, without  the  aid  of  that  mysterious  but 
all-controlling  principle  of  the  human  breast,  a 
spirit  of  reverence  for  the  rights,  and  dread  of 
the  power  of  an  hereditary  crown.  In  the 
United  States  almost  every  man  is  the  pos- 
sessor of  property.  He  has  his  house,  his  little 
farm,  his  shop  and  implements  of  labor,  or 
something  which  is  his  own,  and  which  he  feels 
would  be  jeopardized  by  revolution  and  an- 
archy. He  dreads  a  general  scramble,  knowing 
that  he  would  probably  get  less  than  he  would 
lose  by  it.  He  is  willing,  therefore,  to  be  gov- 
erned by  abstract  law.  There  is  no  need  of 
holding  up  before  him  a  scepter  or  a  crown  to 
induce  obedience.  He  submits  without  them. 
He  votes  with  the  rest,  and  then  abides  by  the 
decision  of  the  ballot-box.  In  other  countries, 
however,  the  case  is  different.  If  not  an  actual 
majority,  there  is  at  least  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  the  community  who  possess  nothing. 
They  get  scanty  daily  food  for  hard  and  long- 
continued  daily  labor;  and  as  change,  no 
matter  what,  is  always  a  blessing  to  sufferers. 


236  KING    CHARLES  T. 

or  at  least  is  always  looked  forward  to  as  such, 
they  are  ready  to  welcome,  at  all  times,  any- 
thing that  promises  commotion.  A  war,  a  con- 
flagration, a  riot,  or  a  rebellion,  is  always  wel- 
come. They  do  not  know  but  that  they  shall 
gain  some  advantage  by  it,  and  in  the  mean 
time  the  excitement  of  it  is  some  relief  to  the 
dead  and  eternal  monotony  of  toil  and  suf- 
fering. 

It  is  true  that  the  revolutions  by  which  mon- 
archies are  overturned  are  not  generally  ef- 
fected, in  the  first  instance,  by  this  portion  of 
the  community.  The  throne  is  usually  over- 
turned at  first  by  a  higher  class  of  men  ;  but 
the  deed  being  done,  the  inroad  upon  the  es- 
tablished course  and  order  of  the  social  state 
being  once  made,  this  lower  mass  is  aroused 
and  excited  by  it,  and  soon  becomes  unman- 
ageable. When  property  is  so  distributed 
among  the  population  of  a  state  that  all  have 
an  interest  in  the  preservation  of  order,  then, 
and  not  till  then,  will  it  be  safe  to  give  to  all  a 
share  in  the  ^yoiver  necessary  for  preserving  it  ; 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  revolutions  produced 
by  insurrections  and  violence  will  probably 
only  result  in  establishing  governments  un- 
steady  and  transient  just  in  proportion  to  the 
suddenness  of  their  origin. 

THE  END. 


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and  Elizabeth  Kirby.     With  60  illustrations. 

WATER-BABIES;  A  Fairy  Tale  for  a  Land-Baby.  By 
Charles  Kinsgley.     With  84  illustrations. 

BATTLES  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 
By  Prescott  Holmes.    With  70  illustrations. 

BATTLES  OF  THE  WAR  FOR  THE  UNION.  By 
Prescott  Holmes.     With  80  illustrations. 

YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  WITH 
SPAIN.     By  Prescott  Holmes.     With  89  illustrations. 

HEROES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY.  By 
Hartwell  James.     With  60  illustrations. 

MILITARY  HEROES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
By  Hartwell  James.    With  60  illustrations. 

UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN.  By  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe.  Arranged  for  young  readers.  With  90  illus- 
trations. 

JOSEPHINE,  Empress  of  France.  By  Jacob  Abbott. 
With  40  illustrations, 

TALES  FROM  SHAKESPEARE.  By  Charles  and  Mary 
Lamb.    With  65  illustrations. 


4  ALTEMUS'  YOUNCJ   PEOPLE'S  LIBRARY. 

ADVENTURES  IN  TOYI.AND.     By  Edith  King    PIull 
With  70  illustrations. 

THE    ADVENTURES    OF    A    BROWNIE.      By    Miss 
Mulock.     With  18  illustrations. 

MIXED    PICKLES.      By  Mrs.   E.   M.    Field.     With  81 
illustrations. 

THE    LITTLE    LAME    PRINCE.     By    Miss    Mulock 
W^ith  24  illustrations. 

THE  SLEEPY  KING.     By  Aubrey  Hopwood  and  Sey 
mour  Hicks.     With  77  illustrations. 

RIP   VAN   WINKLE.     A   LEGEND   OF   THE    HUD 
SON.     Bj/  Washington  Irving.     With  46  illustrations. 

A  CHILD'S  GARDEN  OF  VERSES.     B^'  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson.     With  120  illustrations. 

ANIMAL  STORIES  FOR  LITTLE  PEOPLr .     With  50 
illustrations. 

BO:VIULUS,    the   Founder  of  Rome.     By  Jaco>  AbbeU. 
With  49  illustrations. 

CYRUS    THE    GREAT,   the    Founder    of    the    Persian 
Empire.     By  Jacob  Abbott.     With  40  illustrations. 

DARIUS  THE  GREAT,  King  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 
By  Jacob  Abbott.     With  34  illustrations. 

XERXES    THE    GREAT,   King    of   Persia.     By  Jacob 
Abbott.     With  39  illustrations. 

ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT,   King  of  Macedou.     B; 
Jacob  Abbott.    With  61  illustrations. 


ALTriM^S'  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  LIBRARY.      8 

PYIITIIIUS,  King   of  Epirus.     By  Jacob  Abbott.    With 
45  illustrations. 

HANNIBAL,     the     Carthaginian.     By    Jacob    Abbott. 
With  37  illustrations. 

JULIUS    CAESAR,    the    Boman    Conqueror.      By   Jiicob 
Abbott.     With  44  illustrations. 

ALFRED  THE  GREAT,  of  England.     By  Jacob  Abbott. 
With  40  illustrations. 

WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR,  of  England.     I5y  Jacob 
Abbott.     With  43  illustrations. 

HERNANDO  CORTEZ,  the  Conqueror  of  Mexico.     By 
Jacob  Abbott.     With  30  illustrations. 

MARY,  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS.    By  Jacob  Abbott.    With 
45  illustrations. 

QUEEN  ELIZABETH,  of  England.     By  Jacob  Abbott. 
With  4{)  illustrations. 

KING  CHARLES  THE  FIRST,  of  England.     By  Jacob 
Abbott.     With  41  illustrations. 

KING    CHARLES    THE    SECOND,   of   England.      l\y 
Jacob  Abbott.     With  08  illustratioiLs. 

MARIA  ANTOINETTE,  Queen  of  France.     By  John  S. 
C.  Abbott.     With  42  iUustrations. 

MADAME  ROLAND,  A  Heroine  of  the  French  Revolu* 
tion.     By  Jacob  Abbott.     With  42  illustrations. 


6        HENRY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PXIBMCATIONS. 

ALTEMUS'  ILLUSTRATED 

Young  People's  Histories. 

By  Edward  S.  Ellis.  A.M. 


Cloth,  ornamental.    .60  cents  each. 


YOUNG  PEOPLEVS  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES.  164  illustrations.  Strange  adventures  and 
marvelous  achievement  crowd  its  pages ;  and  the  at- 
tainments shown  in  the  fields  of  education,  of  dis- 
covery, of  invention,  of  literature,  of  art  and  science 
are  wonderful  and  unprecedented. 

YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND.  160 
illustrations.  The  aim  of  this  volume  is  to  enable  the 
reader  to  easily  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  leading 
facts  concerning  the  stupendous  British  Empire,  whose 
full  history,  teeming  with  mighty  events  and  spanning 
twenty  centuries,  requires  volumes  for  the  telling. 

TOUNG  PEOPLE'S  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  115  illus- 
trations. France  is  a  wonderful  nation,  and  her  history 
is  instructive,  for  it  includes  every  system  of  govern- 
ment that  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  devised.  It  is  full 
of  warnings,  too,  and  of  instructive  lessons  for  American 
youths. 

YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   HISTORY  OF  GERMANY.     112 

illustrations.  The  record  of  Germany,  now  among  the 
foremost  Powers  of  the  globe,  is  one  of  valiant  achieve- 
ment on  the  battlefield,  of  patient  suffering  under  grind- 
ing tyranny,  of  grim  resolution  and  heroic  endeavor, 
and  of  grand  triimiphs  in  art,  science,  literature^  diplo- 
macy. 


HENRY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

ALTEMUS'  ILLUSTRATED 

Miscellaneous  Works, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  JONES,  A  Christmas  Gift 
That  Went  A-Begging.  By  Ruth"  McEnery  Stuart. 
Pictures  by  E.  Potthast.  Cloth  $1 .00.  "  George  Wash- 
ington Jones  is  as  endearing  a  small  specimen  of  *  cul- 
lud*  humanity  as  one  has  met  in  fiction  for  many  a 
year,  and  tlie  history  of  his  touching  attempt  to  give 
himself  away  is  told  with  a  mingling  of  humor  and 
pathos  that  is  feirly  disarming." — New  York  Evening 
Post. 

GALOPOFF,  THE  TALKING  PONY.  By  Tudor  Jenks. 
Pictures  by  Howard  R.  Cort.  Cloth,  60c.  <'The 
talking  pony  is  a  character  with  whom  children  and 
other  people,  too,  would  certainly  do  well  to  have  a 
listening  acquaintance." — The  Criterion j  New  York, 
N.  F. 

GYPSY,  THE  TALKING  DOG.  By  Tudor  Jenks.  'Pic- 
tures by  Reginald  B.  Birch.  Cloth,  60c.  "  It  is  welJ 
to  read  all  that  Mr.  Jenks  tells  us  about  animals  that 
talk . " — Pittsburg  Ijeader, 

*'  After  reading  this  very  clever  story  children  will  wait 
for  remarks  from  their  own  pet  dogs." — Chicago  Post, 

CAPS  AND  CAPERS.  By  Gabrielle  E.  Jackson.  Pic- 
tures by  C.  M.  Relyea.  Cloth,  60c.  *'It  is,  in  a 
modest  w^ay,  a  girl's  'Tom  Brown,'  written  by  one 
who  knows  the  heart  of  a  girl,  and  thoroughly  appreci- 
ates it." — The  Advance^  Chicago, 


8        HENRY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

FOLLY  IN  FAIRYLAND.  By  Carolyn  Wells.  Pic- 
tures by  Wallace  Morgan.  Cloth,  60c.  "  It  recounts 
the  adventures  of  a  little  girl  who  went  to  the  realm  of 
the  fairies,  but,  unlike  the  immortal  Alice,  her  experi- 
ences were  all  pleasant. ' ' — Chronicle,  San  Francisco,  CaL 

FOLLY  IN  THE  FOREST.  By  Carolyn  Wells.  Pic- 
tures by  Beginald  B.  Birch.  Cloth,  60c.  ^'In  Miss 
Wells'  books  there  is  always  something  going  on  from 
start  to  finish,  and  for  this  reason  they  are  as  interesting 
to  young  people  as  any  that  could  be  written." — JVdsfif- 
ville  American, 

TOMIVIY  FOSTER'S  ADVENTURES.  By  Fred  A.  Ober. 
Pictures  by  Stanley  M.  Arthurs.  Cloth,  60c.  ^' Tommy 
is  an  every-day,  honest,  wide-awake  little  fellow,  who 
w^ent  out  into  the  world  by  himself  and  really  saw 
things." — Christian  Register,  Boston,  Mass, 

FOR  PREY  AND  SPOILS;  OR  THE  BOY  BUCCA- 
NEER. By  Fred  A.  Ober.  Pictures  by  Reginald  B. 
Birch.  Cloth,  60c.  *'  A  story  comparable  in  interest 
to  Stevenson's  *  Treasure  Island.'  "^ — Nashville  American. 

THE  WANDERINGS  OF  JOE  AND  LITTLE  EM.  By 
Albert  Bigelow  Paine.  Pictures  by  J.  Connacher. 
Cloth,  60  cents.  "A  pretty,  pathetic  story  of  a  ^boy 
prodigy  of  song,'  who,  left  an  orphan  with  his  little 
sister,  decides  to  walk  to  New  York  and  begin  his 
studies  there.  Joe  and  Little  Em  are  sure  to  make  as 
many  warm  friends  in  the  telling  of  this  story  as  they 
made  *  on  the  road,'  where  Joe's  wonderful  voice  won 
all  hearts." — Pittsburg  Bulletin, 

THE  ARKANSAW  BEAR.  By  Albert  Bigelow  Paine, 
With  35  illustrations  by  Frank  Ver  Beck.  Cloth,  $1.00. 
In  this  witty  and  ingenious  book  a  little  boy  and  a  big 
black  bear  become  companions  in  adventures  that  are 
always  diverting,  sometimes  pathetic,  but  never  tragic 


HENKY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY^S  PUBLICATIONS.       0 

MARY  AUGUSTA'S  PRICE.  By  Sophie  Swett.  Ooth, 
illustrated,  60  cents.  Of  course  Mary  Augusta  is  tho 
heroine — her  name  in  full  was  Mary  Augusta  Wing— 
and  her  aspirations,  struggles,  and  development  into  a 
successful  business  woman  are  told  as  only  Miss  Swett 
can  tell  them. 

HOW  BESSIE  KEPT  HOUSE.  By  Amanda  M.  Doug- 
las. Cloth,  illustrated,  50  cents.  liessie  kept  house  for 
her  father  and  brothers  and  sistent  while  her  mother 
went  on  a  visit.  She  had  pleaded  liard  to  be  allowed  to 
do  this ;  but  somehow  many  things  went  wrong.  What 
those  things  were  and  how  her  experiences  became  ol 
the  greatest  value  to  her,  one  mus*>  read  to  find  out. 

POLLY  PERKINS'  ADVENTUKF^.  By  E.  Louise  Lid- 
dell.  Cloth,  illustrated,  60c.  '^A  mere  mention  of 
the  names  of  its  principal  characters  should  be  sufficient 
to  recommend  -the  book  to  the  little  folk — as  well  as  to 
many  of  the  grown-ups  ^ho  still  preserve  tender  recol- 
lections of  mamma's  stories  at  sleepy-time." — Ledger 
Monthly,  New  Yo^k^ 

HALF-A-DO^TE^ST  HOUSEKEEPERS.  By  Kate  Doug- 
las Wiggin.  Pictures  in  color  by  Mills  Thompson. 
Cloth,  75  cents.  **An  animated  record  of  girlish  fun 
and  frolic,  simple,  natural  and  attractive." — Boston 
Transcript. 

DOUGHNUTS  AND  DIPLOMAS.  By  Gabrielle  E. 
Jackson.  Pictures  by  C.  M.  Relyea.  Cloth,  60c. 
The  heroine  is  an  energetic  piece  of  femininity  and 
manages  an  incapable  mother  and  a  fatherless  family  in 
such  a  capable  way  as  to  obtain  the  education  she  covets. 
Eventually  she  makes  doughnuts  in  the  Adirondacks 
to  enable  her  to  acquire  a  diploma  in  the  University  of 
Michigan, 


HENRY  AliTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

DON'TS  FOR  BOYS.  Errors  of  Conduct  Corrected.  By 
an  Old  Boy.  Cloth,  50  cents.  Ooze  calf,  gilt  top, 
boxed,  $1.00.  It  is  a  book  for  <^all  sorts  and  condi- 
tions" of  boys,  but  will  be  best  appreciated  by  brainy 
young  Americans  who  do  not  relish  long- winded  advice, 
but  welcome  "  snappy  "  paragraphs  that  appeal  to  their 
good  sense. 

POOR  BOYS'  CHANCES.  By  John  Habberton,  author 
of  ''Helen's  Babies."  Cloth,  136  illustrations,  6o  cents. 
"We  tried  it  on  the  office  boy,  who  is  ambitious  and 
industrious,  and  will  some  day  be  a  great  newspaper 
proprietor.  When  asked  what  he  thought  of  the  book 
he  replied :  '  Fine.'  The  book  is  a  great  acquisition  to 
any  boy." — Cincinnati  Times-Star, 

SEA  KINGS  AND  NAVAL  HEROES.  By  HartweU 
Jam.es.  Cloth,  137  illustrations,  6o  cents.  "These 
stories  of  famous  sea  fights  of  the  world,  with  other 
naval  adventures  and  enterprises,  are  important  as  a 
branch  of  education,  giving  as  they  do  adequate  ideas 
of  great  events  and  clear  conceptions  of  renowned  per- 
sonages. ' ' — Inter-  Ocean, 

THE  STORY  OP  THE  GOLDEN  FLEECE.  By  And- 
rew Lang.  Pictures  by  Mills  Thompson.  Cloth,  50 
cents.  It  happened  long  ago,  this  adventure  of  the 
Golden  Fleece,  but  the  fame  of  the  heroes  who  sailed 
away  to  a  distant  land  to  win  themselves  renown  for- 
ever has  lived,  having  been  told  many  times  in  story 
and  song.  Yet  who  could  tell  it  like  Mr.  Lang,  with 
his  poet's  passion  for  beauty,  his  artist's  eye  for  color 
and  detail? 

THE  LITTLE  BOY  AND  THE  ELEPHANT.  By  Gus- 
tavo Frankenstein.  Pictures  by  Gustavo  Verbeek. 
Cloth,  50  cents. 

BUMPER  AND  BABY  JOHN.  By  Anna  Chapin  Bay. 
Illustrated.     Cloth,  50  cents. 

A  GOURD  FIDDLE.  By  Grace  MacGowan  Cooke.  lUus- 
trated.    Cloth,  50  cents. 


HENRY  ALTEMITS  COMPANY»S  PUBLICATIONS.      11 

TRIF  AND  TRIXY.  By  John  Habberton.  Cloth,  50 
cents.  A  story  of  a  dreadfully  delightful  little  girl  and 
her  adoring  and  tormented  parents,  relatives  and 
friends. 

DON'TS  FOR  GIRLS.  A  Manual  of  Mistakes.  By 
Minna  Thomas  Antrim.  Cloth,  50  cents.  Ooze  calf, 
gilt  top,  boxed,  $1.00.  The  book  is  full  of  wisdom,  but 
not  of  the  stereotyped  kind,  and  has  walked  straight 
into  populajity. 


12      HENRY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

ALTEMUS'  ILLUSTRATED 

.  Good  Time  Series, 


Attractive  books  by  popular  authors,  each  containing 
qualities  which  children  are  quick  to  perceive  and 
appreciate.  They  strongly  appeal  to  those  who  judi- 
ciously select  what  children  shall  read.  Handsomely 
printed,  profusely  illustrated  and  attractively  bound. 
Cloth,  illuminated  covers  (5^  x  7|  inches),  50  cents  each. 

UNDER  THE  STARS.  By  Florence  Morse  Kingsley. 
Four  beautiful  stories  from  the  life  of  Jesus.  "A 
Watch  in  the  Kight."  <' The  Child  in  Jerusalem." 
<'The  Only  Son  of  His  Mother."  "The  Children's 
Bread."     Cloth,  50  cents. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  ROBINS.  By  Sarah  Trimmer. 
This  story  has  received  nothing  but  praise  from  the 
greatest  critics ;  and  it  has  been  illustrated  by  the  best 
artists.  Its  purpose  is  to  teach  kindness  to  animals. 
Cloth,  60  cents. 

JACKANAPES.  By  Juliana  H.  Ewing.  In  the  story  of 
"Jackanapes,"  the  Captain's  child,  is  the  one  impor- 
tant figure.  The  doting  aunt,  the  faithful  Tony,  the 
irascible  General,  the  i^ostman,  the  boy  trumpeter,  the 
silent  Major,  and  the  ever-dear  Lollo,  are  there,  it  is 
true,  but  they  group  around  the  hero  in  subordinate 
positions.     Cloth,  50  cents. 

THE  CHRISTMAS  STOCKING.  By  Elizabeth  Wether- 
ell.  This  story  of  the  Christmas  Stocking  has  helped 
to  make  many  children  happy,  for  witliout  it  many 
fathers  and  mothers  would  have  never  thought  of 
making  arrangements  for  the  visit  of  Santa  Claus, 
Cloth,  50  cents. 


HENRY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS.       13 

LADDIE.  By  the  Author  of  "  Miss  Toosey's  Mission."  A 
charming  story  that  has  been  popular  many  years,  and 
deservedly  so.     Cloth,  50  ceut«. 

MAKING  A  START.  By  Tudor  Jenks.  The  story  of  a 
bright  boy  who  did  not  wait  for  '^something  to  turn 
up,"  but  exercised  his  talent  for  drawing  until  lie 
secured  a  good  position  on  a  great  daily  newspaper. 
Cloth,  50  cents. 

THE  STORY  OF  A  DONKEY.  By  Mme.  La  Cointesse 
de  SOgur.  In  this  book  the  donkey  tells  the  story  of 
his  life  and  adventure,  because,  as  he  says.  ''I  want 
you  to  treat  all  of  us  donkeys  kindly,  and  to  remember 
that  Ave  are  often  much  more  sensible  than  some 
human  beings."    Cloth,  50  cents. 

MISS  TOOSEY'S  MISSION.  By  the  Author  of  '<  Laddie." 
A  delightful  and  wholesome  story  that  has  had  a  wide 
circulation  and  sti ll  holds  its  popularity.   Cloth,  50  cents. 

JESSICA'S  FIRST  PRAYER.  By  Ilesba  Stretton.  A 
beautiful  and  pathetic  story  which  appeals  to  all  chil- 
dren, and  to  older  readers  as  well.     Cloth,  50  cents. 

A  BLUE  GRASS  BEAUTY.  By  Gabrielle  E.  Jackson. 
AVith  the  story  of  the  ''  Blue  Grass  Beauty  "  is  woven 
that  of  some  very  nice  peopl ',  and  all  is  set  forth  in 
Mrs.  Jackson's  inimitable  manner.  It  is  far  too  good  a 
book  to  mislay.    Cloth,  50  cents. 

TIIE  STORY  OF  A  SHORT  LIFE.  By  Juliaua  H. 
Ewing.  JNIany  people  admire  Leonard's  story  as  much 
as  'Jackanapes."  It  is  a  simple,  exquisitely  tender 
little  afory.     Cloth,  50  cents. 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BARON  MUNCHAUSEN. 
By  Rudolph  Erich  Raspe.  These  stories  are  so  out- 
rageous, and  INIunchausen  asserts  so  strongly  that  they 
are  all  strictly  true,  that  his  name  has  ]>ecome  proverbial 
as  a  synonym  for  extra  v  dgant  boasting.    Cloth,  50  centa. 


HENRY  ALTEMUS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

ALTEMUS'  ILLUSTRATEL 

HOLLY-TREE  SERIES. 


A  series  of  j?ood,  clean  books  for  yoim^  people,  by  author? 
whose  fame  for  delightful  stories  is  world-wide.  They 
are  well  i)rinted  on  fine  paper,  handsomely  illustrated, 
have  colored  frontispieces,  and  are  bound  in  cloth  deco- 
rated in  gold  and  colors,  50  cents. 

THE  HOLLY-TREE.     By  Charles  Dickens. 

THEN  MABCHED  THE  BRAVE.  By  Harriet  T. 
Comstock. 

A  MODERN  CINDERELLA.     By  Louisa  M.  Alcott. 

THE  LITTLE  MISSIONARY.    By  Amanda  ]M.  Douglas. 

THE  RULE  OF  THREE.     By  Susan  Coolidge, 

CHUGGINS.     By  H.  Irving  Hancock. 

WHEN  THE  BRITISH  CAME.  By  Harriet  T.  Comstock. 

LITTLE  FOXES.     By  Rose  Terry  Cooke. 

\N  UNRECORDED  MIRACLE.  By  Florence  Morse 
Kingsley. 

THE  STORY  WITHOUT  AN  END.     By  Sarah  Austin. 

CSLOVER'S  PRINCESS.     By  Amanda  M.  Douglas. 

THE  SWEET  STORY  OF  OLD.    By  L.  HaskelL 


HENRY  ALTEMtrS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

ALTEMUS*  ILLUSTRATED 

Mother  Goose  Series. 


a  series  of  entirely  new  editions  of  the  most  popular  books 
for  young  people.  Handsomely  printed  from  large, 
clear  type,  on  choice  paper;  each  volume  containing 
about  Dne  hundred  illustrations.  Half  vellum,  with 
illuminated  sides  (6|  x8J  inches),  price,  50  cents  each. 

ALADDIN;    OR,  THE  WONDERFUL.  LAMP. 

OUR  ANIMAL  FRIENDS. 

BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST. 

BIRD  STORIES  FOR  LITTLE  PEOPLE. 

CINDERELLA;  Oil,  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER, 

THE  HOUSE  THAT  JACK  BUILT. 

JACK  AND  THE  BEAN-STALK. 

JACK  THE  GIANT-KILLER. 

LITTLE  RED  RIDING  HOOD. 

PUSS  IN  BOOTS. 

THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY. 

WHO  KJLIiED  COCK  ROBINt 


te      HENRY  ALTEMTTS  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIOKS. 

ALTEMUS'  ILLUSTRATED 

Wee  Books  for  Wee  Folks. 

Filled  with  charming  stories,  beautifully  illustrated  with 
pictures  in  colors  and  black  and  white.  Daintily,  yet 
durably  bound.     50  cents  each. 

NURSERY  TALES. 

NURSERY  RHYMES. 

THE  STORY  OF  PETER  RABBIT. 

THE  FOOLISH  FOX. 

THREE  LITTLE  PIGS. 

THE  ROBBER  KITTEN. 


ALTEMUS'  ILLUSTRATED 

Banbury    Cross    Series. 

This  is  a  series  of  old  favorites,  printed  on  plate  paper ;  each 
volume  containing  about  forty  beautiful  illustrations, 
including  a  frontispiece  in  colors.  Half  vellum,  wito 
illuminated  sides.    Square  16mo.     Price,  50  certs  eacir. 

OLD  MOTHER  HUBBARD. 

CHICKEN-LITTLE. 

BLUE  BEARD. 

TOM  THUMB. 

THE  THREE  BEARS. 

THE  WHITE  CAT. 

THE  FAIRY  GIFTS. 

SNOW-WHITE  AND  ROSE-RED. 

ALADDIN,  OR  THE  WONDERFUL  LAMP. 

ALI  BAJBA  AND  THE  FORTY  THIEVES. 


ONE  MONTH  USE 

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REC.  CI8.0EC  11  77 

LD  2lA-30m-5,'75 
(S5877L) 


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